Date: August 24, 2023
Joan Centrella, director of Bridge Initiative for Science & Technology Policy, Leadership & Communication, recently had the opportunity to attend the Legislative Summit for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in Indianapolis this month. At this summit, Centrella was able to share the important work of the Bridge Initiative with the West Virginia delegation and gain exposure of the Bridge Initiative on a national scale.
Picture of the West Virginia Delegation presenting at the NCSL Legislative Summit in Indianapolis, IN.
The NCSL is a nonpartisan group that serves members and staff of state legislatures by providing research, analysis, and other assistance. In addition, NCSL promotes communication and cooperation among state governments through its annual meeting and other events.
The Bridge Initiative is working with NCSL’s Center for Results-Driven Governing. This program aims to strengthen the use of evidence to inform state budget and policy decisions. One way in which the Bridge Initiative implements these efforts is through a Graduate Science and Technology (S&T) Policy Fellowship. For the past several years, WVU STEMM graduate students worked on a wide range of topics important to West Virginians. Centrella met other leaders of state S&T policy fellowship organizations and learned about how they work, strategies for funding, and opportunities to increase fellowship program effectiveness.
“We are hoping to expand this part-time graduate student program to a full-time program for scientists and engineers with graduate degrees,” said Centrella, “Our goal is to increase our value and engagement with WV state legislators so they have the evidence-based research they need to meet the needs of West Virginians.”
The NCSL’s Center for Results-Driven Governing sponsored a session called, “Pathways to Prosperity: Building a Data-Driven Workforce.” This featured a presentation on
how S&T policy fellowships can help create a workforce pipeline for science and technology employment opportunities in government and the private sector, which can be challenging positions to fill.
“I came away with an even better understanding of the importance of the Bridge Initiative in helping to drive economic development and innovation for West Virginians,” said Centrella.
The NCSL Legislative Summit brought together members and staff of state legislators from across the country to discuss and collaborate on a variety of topics, including artificial intelligence, workforce challenges, and public health. The topic of public health was particularly relevant to the Bridge Initiative, as they begin their next policy study on rural public health in West Virginia.
Centrella engaged and networked with many organizations working on similar topics as the Bridge Initiative, or generally interested in promoting science and evidence-based decision-making. Centrella met with public health organizations at the meeting, and said, “It was exciting to learn about solutions for important problems – such as diabetes and kidney disease treatment and maternal health – that may work well in the rural communities in our state.”
Director of the Bridge Initiative, Joan Centrella, met with Executive Director of “Science is US”, Rachel Kerestes, at the NCSL Legislative Summit.
Centrella also connected with Rachel Kerestes, Executive Director of “Science is US”, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). “Science is US” promotes the value of STEM in our world, and the importance of science in public policy.
This summit was an especially great opportunity for the Bridge Initiative as Centrella was able to discuss and share the efforts of the Bridge Initiative with several members of West Virginia’s state delegation to NCSL. These included Delegate Roger Hanshaw (Speaker of the WV House of Delegates), Jeff Billings (House Chief of Staff), and Rich Olsen (Legislative Services Director). With the WV delegation, Joan shared how Bridge encompasses WVU’s land grant mission and can offer important services to the state legislator regarding science and technology topics.
Written by: Lani Beaudette, Bridge Initiative Marketing & Communications Graduate Assistant
For more information on the Bridge Initiative read here.