How do you connect your research to real policy decisions? This session explores how policymakers interpret scientific information and what makes research useful in that space.
Alexandra (“Alex”) Phillips is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Environmental Communication at UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. A chemical oceanographer by training, she earned her PhD in organic geochemistry from Caltech, where she studied aquatic carbon and sulfur cycling. In parallel, Alex developed a passion for making science more impactful and beautiful, working as a professional graphic designer, photographer, and science communicator. After a postdoc with the Large Lakes Observatory, she transitioned into full-time communication and policy, leading communications for the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and serving as a climate policy fellow for U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. At Bren, she directs the Environmental Communication focus in the Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) program and leads the Phillips Environmental Communication Lab, which studies the intersection of ocean science, social science, and data science.
Dr. Phillips is the lead author of “Fostering ocean leaders through science-policy support at U.S. academic institutions” and a co-author of “A Scientist’s Guide for Engaging in Policy in the United States.”
Frontiers | A Scientist’s Guide for Engaging in Policy in the United States
