At the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C., on February 17, ALD for Biosciences Mary Maxon spoke and served on a panel as part of a session on “Overcoming the STEM-Policy Divide with Fellowships in State Governments.” Her talk reported on a 2018 study of PhD and MD California Science & Technology (S&T) Policy Fellows who served one-year appointments as full-time staffers in the California Legislature. The fellowships were supported by a grant to the California Council on S&T from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The study found that S&T fellows help policymakers understand complex policy issues and make better-informed decisions about them, and that S&T fellowships tend to boost legislative fellows’ professional opportunities. Maxon was instrumental in developing the California S&T Policy Fellows program.
