Alumni Profile: Bish Paul (’17) Pays it Forward Through Science, Policy, and Advocacy

Profile by CCST Program Officer for Alumni Engagement Perry Gee, originally featured in the September 2024 CCST S&T Policy Fellows Alumni Newsletter and modified for publication here.

Biswajit (“Bish”) Paul, PhD, is a 2017 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow alum who was placed with the California State Legislature, working with Assemblymember Evan Low and Assemblymember Marc Berman. He also worked with the Assembly Elections & Redistricting Committee. As Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he leads Policy, Advocacy & Communication for Washington state.

A scientist and civil rights advocate, Paul has dedicated his career to advancing equity and social justice. His work spans legislative advocacy, policymaking, research analytics, education reform, and community activism. In a 2019 interview with Cascade PBS, Paul described his journey as an immigrant from India and a gay man, finding his community, confronting imposter syndrome, and impacting change.

He credits much of his success in policy today to his time during the fellowship, which he learned about while attending a meeting for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

“There were two things I wanted to do when I came to CCST,” Paul said. “One was to make sure we could correct historical wrongs and injustices by using evidence-based and science-based policies. The second was to find ways to pay it forward to others. If you forged a pathway for yourself, how can you keep that door open and bring in as many people after you, whether they are queer, scientists of color, or international scientists…anything that puts you in a historically underserved community.”

If you forged a pathway for yourself, how can you keep that door open and bring in as many people after you?

“I was specifically trying to find programs that were open to students who were non-US citizens,” Paul recalled in a recent conversation with CCST. “CCST was the only such program that I found. It became so instrumental in my professional growth and is the reason that I have a career in the States right now and am able to lead a statewide program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.”

As a fellow, Paul wrote and published committee analyses, built bipartisan coalitions to achieve policy goals, and met with stakeholders in support and opposition of bills. In all, he had a hand in assisting the passage of over 17 bills through the California State Legislature.

With his goals in mind and describing himself as a connector of people and communities, Paul looks back fondly on his days as a fellow – especially the occasions where food was involved, such as his cohort’s Taco Tuesday meetups. “All the fellows would get together and share learnings from each other. It was the best.”

Paul also became well-known for his chana parties: “Chana masala is a South Asian chickpea dish served at some restaurants, but I have my own recipe. I offered it to a couple of fellows initially, and that grew into a thing that we did once a month. What started as a small gathering grew into a community! I used to start with two or three cans of chana, but towards the end, I’d have to go to Costco to purchase 24 packs of chana that I’d have to make in this big vat the day before.”

These parties grew to as many as 25 people, becoming a networking opportunity and a place where guests found inspiration from each other. It was here that creating the Capitol LGBTQ+ Association took shape.

Founded in 2017 with the help of 15 others who took up the call, Paul served as its first President. It took several meetings with ethics committees to ensure compliance to protect their LGBTQ+ members.

If you’re going to make policy that impacts LGBTQ+ people, you need representation at the table. You cannot study about us in a book and then write policy for us. Nothing about us, without us.

“From the beginning, many were like ‘You literally just got here. You do not know enough about the space here. Why don’t you just wait a year?’” Paul said. “But at that point I was like ‘If not now, when?’”

Within a few months, they earned their status as a 501c3 and sought to facilitate the professional development of LGBTQ+-identified staff in the California State Capitol community. They educated the Capitol community on LGBTQ+ issues and provided networking opportunities for staff. In seven years, the Capitol LGBTQ+ Association grew in stature and total membership, with current numbers in the hundreds.

“We found a way to attract more LGBTQ+-identified professionals to find careers in policy and support progressive policies,” Paul said proudly. “Because if you’re going to make policy that impacts LGBTQ+ people, you need representation at the table. You cannot study about us in a book and then write policy for us. Nothing about us, without us. That was the energy behind why the Association needed to exist.”

Paul’s work with the California Legislature was recognized by Out to Innovate when he was named the 2018 LGBTQ+ Educator of the Year.

Looking ahead, Paul is keeping his feet on the ground while reaching for the stars. He notes that someday he’d like to return to teaching.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while. That would be part of my philosophy of paying it forward and giving back. I’d like to share my lived experience and inspire other students to pursue their dreams and imagine themselves in roles that perhaps they didn’t know of before.”

He also recognizes that there’s still work to do to rewrite and define new narratives. Now is not the time to step backwards.

“People don’t always take the next leap forward because they are afraid of what they do not know. But all they need to see is someone in these positions doing the work,” Paul said. “For me, if I didn’t go to that AAAS meeting, where I met the only Asian person that I’d ever seen working in academics and policy, I might not have imagined myself in the career I have. The reason I do the work that I do and highlight my stories is to help people feel more comfortable and help them overcome that fear that may hold them back.”

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About the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship
The CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows program places PhD-level scientists, engineers, and social scientists in the California State Legislature, State Agencies, and Offices of the Governor for a year of public policy, leadership training, and public service—training scientific thinkers to be policy-savvy, while helping equip California’s decision makers with science-savvy staff. Discover how our CCST S&T Policy Fellows make a difference in California’s policy arena and learn how to apply at CCST.us/CCST-Science-Fellows-Program.