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Graduate students Heather Aiken, Lucca Mancilio, Tom Walter and Janelle Welton attended the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop April 6-9 in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), this workshop introduced students to the federal policy-making process and strategies to effectively communicate research to policy makers. On the final day, participants from UMass Amherst, Boston University and MIT tested their skills in meetings with Rep. Jim McGovern, the staffs of Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, and the staff of Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

For Welton, a doctoral student in molecular and cellular biology, the greatest lesson was learning how to have better conversations about science. “We learned how storytelling techniques can be used to encourage curiosity as we pitch our research to different audiences,” she says.

As the value of publicly funded research is questioned, Walter, a doctoral student in economics, gained insights about who we should be engaging. “Leaders stressed the importance of talking to our families and friends about what the scientific community is going through, and how it stands to impact the broader society and economy,” he says.

Mancilio, a doctoral student in microbiology, attended hill meetings organized by the National Water Policy Fly-In, leveraging his personal research expertise to advocate for water quality. “I was so proud to speak about the innovative work we do at UMass Amherst and was even happier when I could answer their questions with specific references and provide contacts for some key projects,” he says.

“My peers and I arrived equipped with passion for helping people through science, and we left with the knowledge and tools necessary to engage effectively with policy staff on Capitol Hill and advocate for evidence-based, meaningful change,” says Aiken, a master’s student in engineering management.

The 2025 CASE Workshop attendees were selected through a highly competitive application process and sponsored by the Graduate School, College of Engineering and College of Natural Sciences. Since 2014, the Office of Professional Development (OPD) has helped 28 UMass Amherst graduate students attend the CASE workshop and subsequent meetings on the Hill, in collaboration with partners at AAAS, Tremont Strategies Group and Boston University Federal Relations.