Smith Fellows Fall Retreat Washington DC
Retreat goals: to explore key conservation policy issues and themes most relevant in DC today and meet with conservation related NGOs and agencies to learn about their organizations, career paths, and how they integrate science in the policy making process.
Co-organized by 2023 Fellow, Vaughn Shirey, current Smith Fellows took to DC last fall for their policy retreat. The emphasis of this retreat was to better understand how science is used in policymaking and how relationships between elected officials (and their staff) and conservationists informs that process. Through a series of panels and group discussions, Fellows deepened their understanding of how conservation science intersects with legislative and policy-making processes:
Legislative Panel: Provided insight into the decision-making and consensus-building process of legislators and staffers working on the appropriations process, emphasizing the importance of communicating science effectively and practically for real-world government use.
National Science Foundation Site Visit: Offered Fellows an overview of NSF’s conservation-related programs, illuminated the lifecycle of an NSF grant, and provided guidance on effectively framing applied research proposals.
NGO Panel: Representatives from organizations like WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Defenders of Wildlife highlighted how NGOs leverage partnerships and communicate science effectively to advocate for conservation action.
Federal Agency Panel: Featuring representatives from the National Park Service, EPA, US Forest Service, and NOAA, this panel discussed partnerships between agencies and researchers, providing Fellows with insights into conservation science careers in federal agencies.
AAAS Panel: This panel offered an inside look at the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, providing Fellows with an opportunity to bridge into a career in conservation policy.
The retreat also facilitated informal networking and community-building among Fellows, colleagues from SCB, former Smith Staff, former Fellows, and other members of the wider Smith network including former mentors and reviewers. For most of our panels, we intentionally scheduled a meal or happy hour immediately following to create more time for relationship-building. The Fellows were able to form many new relationships of their own as a result. We also leveraged the Smith network to help organize panels and site visits: for example, many of our panelists were introduced to us by alumni Helen Fox, while our NSF site visit was the result of a request made by alumni Keryn Gedan.
We had two field excursions to learn more about how conservation science is practiced in Washington: First, the US Botanic Gardens, where the Senior Communications Specialist and agricultural botanist Devin Dotson provided us with a private tour focusing on conservation stories, both historical and the role USBG currently plays in conservation science and policy. Then, at the end of the week, we received a private tour of some of the Smithsonian Natural History collections (Lepidoptera, Arachnids, and Formicidae) led by staff research entomologist and collection curator Bob Robbins.
The group explored some of the many cultural and historical sites in DC through tours of the US Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Some of the group took advantage of a beautiful late-fall evening to do a nighttime monument walk along the national mall. We also took advantage of DC's incredibly diverse food offerings, enjoying a variety of cuisines throughout the week.
