{"id":21657,"date":"2024-07-31T17:15:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T21:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/?p=21657"},"modified":"2024-08-01T11:40:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T15:40:13","slug":"2024-stem-policy-fellows-begin-service-at-state-government-offices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/2024-stem-policy-fellows-begin-service-at-state-government-offices\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 STEM Policy Fellows Begin Service at State Government Offices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Contact: John Fear, jmfear@ncsu.edu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Four new North Carolina STEM Policy Fellows are beginning their yearlong roles in high-level state government offices. The fellowship provides in-state, non-academic career opportunities for recent graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe four 2024 NC STEM Policy Fellows will serve in four of our returning host offices,\u201d says Susan White, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s executive director. \u201cWe look forward to seeing the success of these new fellows as they work to tackle key science policy issues across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Sea Grant administers the fellowship, now in its fifth year, with a generous matching grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and support from some of the host offices. This year\u2019s fellowship class includes students from Duke University and the University of North Carolina Wilmington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anne-Elisabeth Baker <\/strong>holds a master\u2019s of environmental management, with a concentration in environmental economics and policy, from Duke University. During her fellowship, she will work in the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis fellowship will allow me to expand my understanding of state government and continue building relationships in the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and beyond. I’m also deeply grateful for the built-in mentorship and networking that the Fellowship provides,\u201d says Baker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maylyn Hinson <\/strong>earned her master\u2019s in coastal and ocean policy from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where her research identified improved governance arrangements to enable the sustainable development of finfish mariculture in North Carolina. She will serve in the North Carolina Department of Commerce Office of Science, Technology, and Innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to position myself to meaningfully contribute to the development of policies that not only address immediate challenges but also foster long-term sustainability and progress,\u201d says Hinson. \u201cThe North Carolina STEM Policy Fellowship represents a unique opportunity for me to translate these principles into tangible outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anika Pruim <\/strong>earned her master\u2019s in coastal and ocean policy from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, with research focusing on the implementation of nature-based stormwater solutions in North Carolina. She also has held internships with North Carolina Sea Grant and North Carolina Coastal Federation. She will serve in the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality\u2019s State Energy Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe opportunities that I will gain through the North Carolina STEM Policy Fellowship align well with my career endeavors,\u201d says Pruim. \u201cI want to work at a high level in a state agency, focusing on implementing environmental policies that will promote a sustainable, clean, and beautiful North Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jane Swart <\/strong>received her Ph.D. in biology from Duke University, where she used molecular and developmental biology techniques to understand the evolutionary history of two sea urchin species. She will work in the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am eager to bring everything I\u2019ve learned as a scientist to a career in policy,\u201d says Swart. \u201cWorking in science at a critical moment for addressing climate change, and through the pandemic, has shown me how crucial it is that science informs policy. This fellowship is a wonderful opportunity for me to make that transition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Department of Transportation also serves as a host office, in addition to the above offices, but does not have a fellow this cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To prepare for their appointments, fellows participate in professional development sessions in science policy and communication, an opportunity developed in partnership with Sigma Xi, a scientific honor society based in Research Triangle Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n