CW3E Graduate Student Attends the American Meteorological Society Summer Policy Colloquium

June 11, 2019

CW3E graduate student, Meredith Fish, was selected to attend the June 2019 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Summer Policy Colloquium, and was awarded full support by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through a nationwide competition.

During the 10-day AMS Summer Policy Colloquium hosted at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C., Meredith learned from numerous perspectives on how science can inform policy and how policy governs science. The colloquium attendees visited the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, hearing from Senators and House Representatives, scientists who transitioned into policy, State Department negotiators, congressional science policy analysts and staffers, AAAS fellows, non-profits, registered lobbyists, leaders in private and public partnerships, and others. One highlight of the colloquium was the opportunity to have dinner with, hear from and engage with Dr. Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, fellow meteorologist, and previous attendee of the AMS Summer Policy Colloquium.

The attendees engaged in a group exercise on weather, water and climate legislation to conduct a mock Senate committee markup and vote on legislation relevant to the Earth Science community. Divided into small groups, we each ‘represented’ Senators and his/her staff to understand the bills proposed, understand the political views of and landscape for the office we represented, develop our own alternative or complementary policy approaches and devise and implement a markup strategy. This exercise and others highlighted some of the intricacies, nuances, and varying priorities involved in politics.

AMS Summer Policy Attendees in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. (Photo by AMS)

AMS Summer Policy Colloquium attendees on the last day pictured with the program lead, Dr. Bill Hooke (back row left).

AMS Summer Policy Colloquium attendees sitting in the House of Representatives hearing room for the Committee of Science, Space and Technology. After the picture, the attendees were granted permission to sit in the elevated seats, as seen on the sides of the photo, reserved for serving House of Representative members.