NALINI NADKARNI

Caitlin earned her M.S. in Natural Resources with an emphasis on Conservation Ecology from the University of Michigan. Her graduate work focused on documenting the ecological impacts of invasive species management on islands in the Aegean (Greece). Caitlin currently serves as the Program Manager for the STEM Ambassador Program where she manages scientist trainings and public engagement programs. Caitlin works closely with the STEMAP team to guide scientists in identifying and implementing innovative public engagement activities in a range of venues (e.g., correctional facilities, senior centers, cafes, community council meetings). She is also responsible for representing the Program at conferences and assisting with the preparation of publications and project reports. Caitlin joins STEMAP after working as an Environmental Policy Analyst at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, where she worked with legal and technical experts to develop and communicate policy positions on state and local environmental issues.

Laura earned her M.S in the Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah. As a master’s student, Laura focused on reformation of youth environmental education to make it more inclusive to underserved populations as well as to those who don’t typically think of themselves as interested in or capable of participating in science through the inclusion of place-based interdisciplinary content. Laura currently works as the Program Manager for Initiative to Bring Science Programs to the Incarcerated (INSPIRE) and STEM Community Alliance Program (STEMCAP) for Youth-in-Care. These two programs bring local scientists to adult and juvenile incarcerated populations to provide informal science education. While INSPIRE, the adult program, focuses mainly on science lectures, STEMCAP also includes art-science workshops, career workshops, and agency science presentations. Both programs also include conservation projects that allow incarcerated people to contribute to a specific conservation effort. Laura was drawn to these programs by their effort to engage underserved populations with science while expanding participants’ perception of science through interdisciplinary work and in-person contact with local scientist.