Albert Einstein is attributed with saying “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.” Postdocs know this reality well, in that postdoctoral training is a crucial bridge between graduate training and fully launching an independent career, whatever and however you move in your field. Just like the bridge is crucial, so are the skills with which you navigate it because it is yours, you are making the journey, and you own what happens. Let’s talk about how to do that with clear eyes (intentionality) and "elastic" strategies (resilience).

Speaker: Rashada Alexander, Ph.D., director, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships

Alexander provides strategic leadership for the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships program (STPF). With a team of 20 staff and a $16+ million-dollar annual budget, she administers programming and professional development for more than 250 fellows annually in the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the U.S. government. As an STPF alum, she puts her experience to good use in leading the next evolution of the program to ensure it continues to excel in connecting scientific expertise with policymaking.

She joins AAAS from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), where she optimized and streamlined operations, and assessed the impact of FFAR’s research funding. Before that, she was a program director in the Division of Research Capacity Building at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Two of her 10 years at NIH were as an STPF fellow.

Alexander earned her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Kentucky. She is also a proud alum of Youngstown State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

She resides in the DC metro area with her husband, and enjoys action movies of questionable quality, doing silly dances even if people are watching, and gadgetry.