Nineteen environmental researchers from across North America have been awarded Leopold Leadership Fellowships for 2008.
Based at Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment, the Leopold Leadership Program was founded in 1998 and is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Each year the program selects up to 20 mid-career academic environmental scientists as fellows, who receive intensive communication and leadership training to help them deliver scientific information more effectively to journalists, policymakers, business leaders and the public.
"The Leopold Leadership Program recognizes rising stars in environmental science who are taking on leadership positions in their fields and within their universities," said Pam Sturner, managing director of the program. "Our program provides them with the skills and connections to make sure their research is heard and has an impact in the public arena."
The program was established to fill a gap in environmental decision making: getting the best scientific information into the hands of government, nonprofit, business and community leaders to further the development of environmentally sustainable policies and practices, she said.
The 2008 fellows come from a wide range of disciplines, including environmental engineering, marine sciences, agricultural economics and ecology. They were chosen for their outstanding qualifications as scientists, demonstrated leadership ability and strong interest in communicating science beyond traditional academic audiences.
Each fellow will participate in two weeklong training sessions that include practice media interviews and testimony at a mock congressional hearing. The fellowship also offers peer networking and mentoring through the Leadership Network of program advisers, trainers and 115 past fellows who are active in science outreach and are working to infuse scientific understanding into public and private sector discussions about the environment.
"Academic scientists work hard to understand environmental problems and to develop potential solutions, but actually solving problems requires two-way flow of information and communication between scientists and decision makers," said Pamela Matson, dean of Stanford's School of Earth Sciences and scientific director of the program. "The Leopold Leadership Program trains academics to close the gap between knowledge and action."
Following is a list of 2008 Leopold Leadership Fellows and their research:
Julia Cole, associate professor, Department of Geosciences (joint appointment in Atmospheric Sciences), University of Arizona. Research: change in the El Niño/Southern Oscillation system.
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