Mikel is the Senior Communications Officer at CCST, where he devises and executes CCST’s external communications plan, provides support to CCST’s projects and programs, and collaborates on internal communications. Working closely with executive, communications, and program staff, Mikel provides support on the facilitation of science advice and stakeholder engagement. He designs CCST’s work products, including the CCST Spotlight Newsletter, publications, email and social media marketing, print materials, graphics, videos, and other products for the distribution of public information—and administers CCST’s website.
Previously he was a CCST Program Associate, authoring and managing a peer-reviewed report for CCST, and served as a CCST Science and Technology Policy Fellow appointed to the California State Senate on the Transportation and Housing Committee, which analyzes legislation covering policy areas from essential infrastructure needs to autonomous vehicles and affordable housing.
Mikel received his PhD in Plant Biology from UC Berkeley, where he studied the molecular mechanisms of cassava bacterial blight, a disease of agricultural significance in the tropics. He completed his BA in Biological Chemistry and in Russian at Grinnell College in Iowa.