Science Policy Fellowships Making Major Impact

The California Council on Science & Technology (CCST) Policy Fellows program has delivered significant benefits for both the participants and the larger society, as Bruce Alberts, Sarah Brady, Keleigh Friedrich, Amber Mace, and Maxine Savitz clearly document in “15 Years of California’s Science & Technology Policy Fellowship” (Issues, Spring 2025). I have seen this firsthand.

I served as a California State Assembly member from 2012 to 2022. I also hold a PhD in astrophysics and have had a 40-year research career. This experience has given me a unique perspective to evaluate the work of the program’s fellows. I have had the privilege of employing eight of them. All have made substantial contributions to passing legislation and have since progressed to careers that continue to serve California and the nation.

The scientific knowledge of these fellows was a crucial asset in refining legislation. As chair of the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, I managed bills requiring detailed scientific analysis of harmful additives in cosmetics and consumer products. While the committee staff were experts in environmental law, they were not scientists. The fellows undertook this essential work. Their expertise significantly improved the quality of bills passing through the committee and was invaluable in advancing the legislation I authored.

One of the most important bills that the fellows worked on was the regulation of cosmetics. The US government has little regulations of cosmetics. Safety advocates came to the committee with a bill to ban certain chemicals from cosmetics. Research by the fellows found that the European Union had established standards for cosmetics and collaborated with manufacturers to ensure compliance with these standards, and that these standards met the requirements of the advocates for the bill. The bill was changed to adopt the European standards for California. Subsequently, US manufacturers decided to adopt these standards for the US market. As with many health and safety regulations, California led the way for the nation.

Beyond their scientific capabilities, the fellows have demonstrated excellent interpersonal and political skills. They skillfully negotiated bill language with all stakeholders, crafting wording that achieved a given bill’s objectives while addressing the interests of both environmental advocates and industry.

The impact of these scientists and engineers extends well beyond their fellowship period. Many of my former fellows now hold influential public service positions, including roles at the Innovative Genomics Institute; the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment; the US Department of State; the San Francisco Estuary Institute; and the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy. Other fellows have become chiefs of staff to legislators or lead committee staff. The experience gained through the CCST program has equipped them for roles where they continue to work for the people of California and the United States.

Because of all the excellent work done by the fellows, I was able to convince the California legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom to have the state contribute $30 million to establish the program into the future. I view this as one of the most important accomplishments of my tenure as a legislator.

Bill Quirk

Technical brilliance alone won’t turn a researcher into an effective policy adviser, as Bruce Alberts, Sarah Brady, Keleigh Friedrich, Amber Mace, and Maxine Savitz rightly point out in their essay, which provides a thoughtful retrospective illustrating the persistence and vision necessary to embed science and data into policymaking. As a proud alum of the program and chief executive of the National Science Policy Network (NSPN), I’ve seen firsthand how transformative the fellowship has been, not just for the scientists who participate, but for how science is received in the halls of California government.

But the story shouldn’t stop in Sacramento, California, or with only a handful of fellows each year.

In their review of the California Council on Science & Technology (CCST) fellowship program, the authors reveal a lesson many of us in the field have come to embrace: evidence alone doesn’t drive change. Relationships, trust, and timing matter just as much. Science advisers succeed when they can communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds, adapt to sudden political developments, and recognize that being “factually right” is often not enough to pass laws. These are more than “soft skills”—they’re survival skills. And they require intentional and sustained development to navigate the complexity of policymaking effectively.

That’s where NSPN and the broader science-policy community come in.

We’re building on the foundation CCST helped establish. Like CCST, we emphasize analysis, communication, and collaborative policy development. We also recognize that the demand for effective science advisers far exceeds current capacity. If we want to see evidence-based decisionmaking at the federal, state, and local levels, we must prepare far more scientists than we do today to thrive in the policy arena.

CCST’s model offers a blueprint, and its lessons are invaluable for guiding the next generation of scientists engaging in policymaking. It shows how sustained investment in science advising can lead to smarter governance, and ultimately, to healthier, safer, and more resilient communities. Science-informed policy isn’t abstract; it’s tangible. It affects people’s health, housing, transportation, and economic opportunity.

Now is the time to scale this vision, not just by replicating fellowships in each state, but by cultivating a larger, more diverse pipeline of trained, trusted, and sought-after advisers with expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—the STEM fields. That means funding scalable programs that are providing ongoing professional development, long-term mentorship, and practical training to navigate the obstacles STEM professionals will inevitably face.

At NSPN, we often say scientists and policymakers are working hard but on completely opposite shores. One group builds knowledge, the other makes decisions, and both shape the lives of millions. While each plays a vital role, without a bridge to bring them together, progress can be slow, ineffective, and inequitable. NSPN’s mission is to build that bridge and ensure more researchers and decisionmakers connect in the “messy middle,” where scientific evidence and political will come together to shape effective policy. Our collective future depends on it.

Tepring Piquado