The AAAS S&T Policy Fellowships (STPF) offers fellowship placements in all three branches of the federal government: legislative, judicial and executive. Applicants can apply to two in any given year. Before you make your selection, join us on August 18 at 3 p.m. ET to hear from the “STPF Program Area Musketeers” representing all three fellowship program areas. Find out what it’s like to be a fellow in each branch of the federal government. Learn how to tailor your application to your selection(s). And find out about an additional legislative branch placement that is being offered this year.
This is the third of a five-part series. Miss an earlier chat? View the full schedule and watch on-demand recordings of previous chats here.
CHAT PARTICIPANTS
MODERATOR
Cynthia Bernardez, Program Manager, AAAS S&T Policy Fellowships
FELLOWS
Connor Dacey, 2021-22 Executive Branch Fellow, U.S. Department of the Interior, Natural Hazards Mission Area (USGS)
Connor Dacey recently started a new position as an Emergency Management Specialist (Response) with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after concluding his time as a AAAS S&T Policy Fellow (STPF) at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) as part of the Landslides Hazards Program and USGS Emergency Management within the Natural Hazards Mission Area. Prior to being an STPF fellow, Connor spent a year as the 2020-21 Science Policy Fellow at the Geological Society of America. Dacey is a meteorologist, having obtained both B.S. and M.S. degrees in meteorology and atmospheric and oceanic sciences from the Florida State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. He received a Ph.D. in Disaster Science and Management from the University of Delaware.
Melody Tan, 2021-22 IEEE-USA / AAAS Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow in the Office of Senator Tina Smith
Melody Tan is the Health and Environment Legislative Assistant for Congressman Donald McEachin. She previously worked on health policy for Senator Tina Smith as a 2021-22 IEEE-USA / AAAS Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow. During her fellowship, she addressed topics including mental health, rural health, telehealth, health care workforce, and pandemic preparedness. She earned her Ph.D. in bioengineering from Rice University, where she worked with the Baker Institute for Public Policy to develop several initiatives equipping early-career scientists and engineers to engage with policymakers. Melody was also a 2019 Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Reshmina William, 2021-22 Judicial Branch Fellow, Federal Judicial Center
Reshmina William is a water resources engineer passionate about using data science as a multi-disciplinary tool to empower communities to sustainability shape their environments. During her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she worked with a team of lawyers, geologists, landscape architects, and community organizers to study the impact that green infrastructure performance has on stormwater resilience in urban environments. She also has two years of experience as a Design Engineer for TERRA Engineering, Ltd. in Chicago, IL, where she led the design of a web-based tool to allow engineers and city planners to work together to holistically evaluate green solutions for stormwater management. In her current role as the STPF Judicial Fellow, she leverages her expertise to develop educational tools for the federal judiciary relating to the science of water and the environment. Her interests lie at the intersection of engineering, law, policy, and the arts as avenues for science communication.