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As part of my Congressional Science Fellowship in the Office of U.S. Senator Hirono (left), I worked alongside the Senator's policy team to meet with the Senator's Hawaii-based constituents, including staff of the He'eia National Estuarine Research Reserve (right; photo taken April 2025).
My work as a science policy advocate has been driven by the following three goals: 1) improving the ability of U.S. government agencies to prepare for and respond to natural hazards; 2) providing local, state and federal policymakers with the scientific context necessary to write legislation that will best serve the health and well-being of our nation's communities; 3) advocating for increasing the visibility, inclusion, and perspectives of underrepresented scientists.
During my two-year Congressional Science Fellowship in the Office of U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), I accomplished the first and second of these goals by:
My work as a volcanologist would not have been possible without taxpayer dollars, specifically through the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright Program and the National Science Foundation. Thus, as a Congressional Science Fellow I also prioritized helping Senator Hirono advance policies maintaining strong federal investments in Earth system science research and education programs. These policies include bills to authorize funding for increased research, education, and training opportunities for individuals who have historically been underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
Specifically, I helped Senator Hirono
Prior to my Congressional Science Fellowship, I acquired 6 years of extracurricular experience advocating for state and federal government officials to support basic science research and policies informed by scientific knowledge. While serving as the Advocacy Chair for the University of Illinois' Science Policy Group, I organized activities that allowed me and my colleagues to write letters to our Congressional representatives; host energy and agricultural policy panels featuring local elected officials, subject-matter experts, and a Congressional candidate; and visit Springfield, IL to meet with our state representatives.
I have also participated in multiple organized visits to Washington, DC to meet with the staff of my Congressional representatives (both in the House and Senate). These trips were made possible by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), Geological Society of America (GSA), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In addition to providing me with first-hand experience communicating with the offices of my Congressional representatives, these DC visits have also allowed me to build a network of like-minded science professionals seeking to communicate the value of our work to broader society.
Finally, I am the Chair-Elect of GSA's Geology & Public Policy Committee (GPPC), for which I help revise policy position statements that GSA's entire membership (currently 17,000 individuals) can refer to when preparing for Congressional visits of their own. I am also an alumnus of the American Geophysical Union's Voices for Science program (specifically, their inaugural "policy track" cohort in 2018), and remain in touch with the group to keep up with current science advocacy initiatives.
During my two-year Congressional Science Fellowship in the Office of U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), I accomplished the first and second of these goals by:
- Leading the writing and introduction of the bicameral, bipartisan National Wildfire Preparedness Month Resolution (S. Res. 247), which passed the Senate by unanimous consent in June 2025.
- Co-leading the writing and staff-level negotiations for the Wildfire Resilience Through Grazing Research Act (S. 602) co-introduced by Senators Padilla, Hirono, Moran, and Lankford.
- Developing strong partnerships with state and local government staff and stakeholders of federal programs supporting wildfire mitigation, ecological restoration, and climate change adaptation.
- Reviewing and distilling contents of technical reports provided by wildfire experts and emergency managers from county, state, and federal agencies into clear and concise memos to guide Senator Hirono’s policy decisions and Lahaina wildfire recovery oversight.
- Preparing questions, briefing materials, and staffing Senator Hirono at the March 2024 Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission’s recommendations for national wildfire mitigation, response, and recovery policy priorities.
- Writing strategic questions for Senator Hirono to ask Secretaries of the Interior and Forest Service Chiefs during two different presidential administrations regarding each agency’s budget, staffing, and implementation of statutorily mandated programs.
My work as a volcanologist would not have been possible without taxpayer dollars, specifically through the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright Program and the National Science Foundation. Thus, as a Congressional Science Fellow I also prioritized helping Senator Hirono advance policies maintaining strong federal investments in Earth system science research and education programs. These policies include bills to authorize funding for increased research, education, and training opportunities for individuals who have historically been underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
Specifically, I helped Senator Hirono
- Update and reintroduce the following bills:
- Women and Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Booster Act of 2025 (S. 1534)
- Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2024 (S. 4595)
- Women and Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Booster Act of 2024 (S. 4028)
- Develop and submit over 50 programmatic requests for the FY26 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, supporting environmental protection, water resource management, climate adaptation research, ecological preservation, and tribal historic preservation programs.
- Maintain oversight of the National Science Foundation's implementation of the Senator's “STEM Opportunities Act” by organizing and leading calls with NSF officials to discuss their progress in carrying out the Senator's provisions of the CHIPS and Science Act (P.L. 117-167).
Prior to my Congressional Science Fellowship, I acquired 6 years of extracurricular experience advocating for state and federal government officials to support basic science research and policies informed by scientific knowledge. While serving as the Advocacy Chair for the University of Illinois' Science Policy Group, I organized activities that allowed me and my colleagues to write letters to our Congressional representatives; host energy and agricultural policy panels featuring local elected officials, subject-matter experts, and a Congressional candidate; and visit Springfield, IL to meet with our state representatives.
I have also participated in multiple organized visits to Washington, DC to meet with the staff of my Congressional representatives (both in the House and Senate). These trips were made possible by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), Geological Society of America (GSA), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In addition to providing me with first-hand experience communicating with the offices of my Congressional representatives, these DC visits have also allowed me to build a network of like-minded science professionals seeking to communicate the value of our work to broader society.
Finally, I am the Chair-Elect of GSA's Geology & Public Policy Committee (GPPC), for which I help revise policy position statements that GSA's entire membership (currently 17,000 individuals) can refer to when preparing for Congressional visits of their own. I am also an alumnus of the American Geophysical Union's Voices for Science program (specifically, their inaugural "policy track" cohort in 2018), and remain in touch with the group to keep up with current science advocacy initiatives.
