Graduate Students Attend AAAS Workshop on Federal Issues, Science Communication

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Four graduate students learned about Congress, the federal budget process and effective science communication during the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop hosted March 18-20 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C.

Evan Kuras, a master’s student in environmental conservation, and doctoral students Avelino Amado, kinesiology, and Christina Chisholm and Archit Rastogi, both of molecular and cellular biology, were chosen for the workshop based on applications they submitted to the Graduate School’s Office of Professional Development.

The workshop included a session titled “From CASE Student to Science Policy Fellow” delivered by Jesús Alvelo, a UMass Amherst alumnus who attended the inaugural 2014 CASE workshop and is now a 2017-18 AAAS science and technology policy fellow at the National Science Foundation.

On the March 21, the students went with other workshop participants from Boston University and MIT to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and congressional staff, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her staff and representatives Michael Capuano, Katherine Clark, Jim McGovern and Richard Neal. They also met with staff from Sen. Ed Markey’s office.