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by Alison Gilchrist, CSTPR Science Writing Intern<\/em><\/p>\n Elizabeth \u201cBets\u201d McNie was part of the first ever graduate student cohort at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research (CSTPR). She knows that CSTPR is a special place.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing part of the community here was the best part,\u201d says McNie. \u201cI\u2019m still really good friends with a lot of the students who were in my cohort. There\u2019s a sense that the people here \u2018get\u2019 the importance of the science-policy nexus, and that\u2019s one of the things that really appeals to me.\u201d<\/p>\n McNie has studied the connections between science and policy ever since. During her PhD, McNie studied how a program called The Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessment (RISA) produces usable data for decision makers. These studies showed her how difficult it can be to cross the stormy waters between scientists and policy-makers, but how important it is to cross those waters.<\/p>\n \u201cCSTPR made me appreciate how complex the landscape is between science and policy, and how it needs to be navigated with intention,\u201d said McNie. \u201cIt\u2019s not simply about producing the information and plopping it on someone\u2019s desk in a glossy brochure. It\u2019s really about working intentionally with the intended users of the information to try and produce information that they can use and will use.\u201d<\/p>\n She says that \u201cnavigating with intention\u201d requires that those two groups of people, the scientists and the users of the science, interact frequently and work to understand each other\u2019s capabilities and limitations.<\/p>\n McNie had navigating experience before joining her PhD cohort at CSTPR\u2014but in a very different context. After graduating from the California State University Maritime Academy, she worked as a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer on containerships, oil tankers, and offshore oil-drilling rigs. She also worked as a training officer and lecturer at her alma mater.<\/p>\n \u201cTeaching has been my passion,\u201d McNie says about her career so far, and it shows. Her explanation of how to navigate with sextants makes even a landlubber like myself feel more confident about stepping onto a ship.<\/p>\n McNie left CSTPR with her PhD and worked at Purdue University before returning to Boulder to join Western Water Assessment, where she works currently. Western Water tries to produce usable climate information for users in the Rocky Mountain West. They aim to connect scientists to decision makers so that users of the data that the scientists produce can specify what kind of data is most helpful. There are times when the scientist can\u2019t produce the information that the decision makers want, so the scientists will propose what they can do instead.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an iterative, back-and-forth dialogue between researchers and decision makers,\u201d says McNie. \u201cI love the colleagues I get to work with at Western Water. They\u2019re passionate about creating climate information that people can work with.\u201d<\/p>\n Ever navigating with intention, however, McNie will be taking a tenure-track job at the California State University Maritime Academy. She\u2019ll be teaching in the department of Marine Transportation and will continue to do research on usable science, but in the maritime industry. Although this is a job she was elated to take, she\u2019s sad to leave CSTPR behind.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a special place. I have a lot of fond memories here, and I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work with really great people here.\u201d<\/p>\n She hopes to continue collaborating with people from CSTPR, and she will continue to spread the word that CSTPR is a community of like-minded people who really understand the science-policy nexus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Alison Gilchrist, CSTPR Science Writing Intern Elizabeth \u201cBets\u201d McNie was part of the first ever graduate student cohort at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research (CSTPR). She knows that CSTPR is a special place. \u201cBeing part of … Continue reading