On April 24, Jennifer Zeitzer, director of legislative relations/deputy director, Office of Public Affairs at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) spoke to Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute scientists and nonscientists about the importance of getting involved as advocates for science.
“Advocacy is an important part of your role as a scientist,” she said. “It gives back to your professional community.”
Zeitzer went on to cite examples of how effective scientific advocacy has been in recent years. She credits the passing of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill (HR1625) that increased the NIH budget by $3 billion and the NSF budget by $295 million – the largest increases in 15 years – in part at least to advocacy. She also shared that FASEB rallied some 20,000 emails in a short timeframe to preserve tax benefits for graduate students.
A 10-year veteran of FASEB, Zeitzer summarized a few clear action steps that researchers can take to advocate for science: • Be prepared – understand what you want your congressional representative to do
• Do your homework – check congressional members’ websites and social media
• Stay in touch – contact your congress members, understand how they vote (www.congress.gov)
• Make your message effective – tell a personal story, talk about collaborators
Zeitzer encouraged the audience to participate in State Capitol Hill Day and to use the power of electronic media – from emails to social media. “If you don’t speak up, Federal funding will fall off the cliff again,” she said.
The seminar was hosted by SBP’s Office of Education, Training & International Services (OETIS).
To learn more about scientific advocacy or for an overview of online tools and resources go to FASEB’s Science Policy & Advocacy website or contact jzeitzer@faseb.org.
