CCST S&T Policy Fellows

  Where are you placed? I’m working in the office of Senator Maria Elena Durazo, who represents neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles for the 26th District. I staff her on policy issues that are addressed in the following Senate committees: Energy, Utilities, and Communications; Transportation; Agriculture; and Health. I’m also staffing several bills […]

Making a Big Career Change After years of crafting my skills as a scientific researcher — refining my techniques, feeling confident in my workflow from reading papers to collecting data in the field, and completing my PhD — I was excited (and a little nervous!) to embark on this new science policy journey. I think I can […]

  Reflecting on my life’s journey so far, I realize there is a common thread throughout that has guided and supported me along the way—a sense of community. I’ve been lucky to have and develop supportive communities around me at every stage of my academic and policy career. My close-knit friendships during college in Oklahoma, […]

  What did you study in grad school and why did you decide to go into policy? I earned my PhD in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University, where I studied nanotechnology and polymers to make carbon capture more efficient. But I remember the moment when I realized I needed to go into environmental and climate […]

  CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship Meets $30 Million Endowment Goal, Thanks to $10 Million from State Budget Historic State investment affirms value and impact of the CCST Fellowship, as the program enters its 15th year of delivering scientific expertise to policymakers   California just made a historic move to help ensure that science […]

Read Online  |  Download (PDF)     In 2021, we launched CCST’s five-year strategic plan, “Toward a Resilient California” – a call to action that outlines three clear, measurable goals to guide our work in this critical time for our state and the planet. They are ambitious targets that will amplify the Golden State’s global […]

I am not a planner. Looking at my CV, it may seem like I was always intent on science policy, but in graduate school I did not have a five-year plan, let alone a singular career trajectory in mind. Instead, I found my way by staying curious and trying new things. My advice for PhDs […]

  By Keleigh Friedrich, CCST Director of Communications Susan Hackwood is former Executive Director of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Professor Emerita of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Hackwood received her PhD in Solid State Ionics from DeMontfort University, UK. Before joining academia, she was […]

How does the ability to flip a switch and turn your lights on relate to my coastal ecology research—studying seaweed species and counting hermit crabs? More than you might think. A few months into my placement on the Assembly Utilities & Energy committee, I’ve been surprised to find much of what I learned about biology […]

Washington, DC—The California Council on Science and Technology is attending the 2023 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, themed around “Science for Humanity.” Returning in person this year, CCST coordinated two workshops, a scientific session, and an exhibitor booth for the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship in partnership with other state science policy fellowship programs. CCST has […]

CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship Program Places PhD Scientists into Policy Careers Apply to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. START YOUR APPLICATION  |  Download Fellowship Flyer  |  Download Fellowship Poster Update 2/16: The application period had been extended by one month to March 31st. SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California Council […]

  In January of 2022, I took my very first work trip as a CCST S&T Policy Fellow at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to observe a wildfire-impacted disaster site. After a three-hour drive—weaving through winding roads toward the Sierra Nevada mountains—I stepped out of the car in my uniform (a […]

SACRAMENTO, CA—We are excited to introduce the 2023 Class of CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows. Now celebrating its 14th year, the program places PhD level scientists, engineers, and social scientists in Legislative and Executive Branch offices, training them for careers in public policy while helping to equip California’s decision makers with science-savvy staff. APPLY NOW: We are currently […]

CCST S&T Policy Fellowship Alums to Discuss the Application and Interview Process Learn about an opportunity to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. Download Fellowship Flyer | Poster CCST employs a multi-step process to evaluate each candidate based on their potential success in the Fellowship. Watch this webinar to hear […]

Tick tock, tick tock. It’s been a year since I moved to Sacramento from Colorado, eager to transform my career, bask in the mild winter of California, and somehow contribute to state policy. I was uncertain and nervous. Whereas many of the other CCST S&T Policy Fellows are from California or California institutions, I couldn’t […]

CCST S&T Policy Fellowship Alums to Discuss the Day-to-Day Life of a Fellow Learn about an opportunity to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. Download Fellowship Flyer Moving to Sacramento. Adjusting from lab to office. Working in policy. There’s a lot of new experiences and opportunities as a CCST […]

As a flowing river runs into a larger, standing body of water like a lake or the sea, it deposits sediment into a triangular shaped wetland known as a delta—most often with a narrow tip at the river opening into the broader end of the open water. Occasionally, this formation can happen in the reverse, […]

Why Choose the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship? Held Mon. Oct. 3, 2022 In this first of three informational webinars, hear directly from current and former CCST S&T Policy Fellows about the ins and outs of the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows program, the impact that the program has had on their careers, and the […]

What did you study in grad school and why did you decide to go into policy? As part of my biostatistics PhD program at the University of Washington, I investigated ways to use nutritional information from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis—designed to research predictors of cardiovascular disease—to identify heart-healthy diet patterns. I considered ways to […]

Stephen Cutie, PhD is a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow placed with the Office of Senator Richard Pan. He earned his PhD in Bioengineering from UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley studying the hormonal switches that regulate heart regeneration across evolution and development. From Miami, Florida, Stephen earned his BS in Biology from […]

California Invests in CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows Program, Placing PhD-level Scientists, Engineers, and Social Scientists in the Legislature, State Agencies, and Offices of the Governor. SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Newsom this week, the 2022 California State Budget allocates $10 million for the California Council on Science and Technology’s […]