August 2026 Newsletter

TLDR: Please join our virtual panel discussion on September 23rd on the intersections of science and law! Need money? Check out SNAPStart, the new SciPol student org mini-grant program! Want more events? See our community calendar. Looking to volunteer? Join Stance on Science! Wondering what local congressional science advocacy can look like? Follow our 2026 Congressional District Visits. Readers, follow our Medium blog for the latest articles by SNAPpers; learners, stay tuned for an upcoming modular science policy course developed by SNAP!

FREE VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSION on the Intersection of Science & Law on September 23rd at 5:00 pm ET!

More details coming soon, but you can register here now!

2026 SNAP Congressional District Visits

Building on the success of the SNAP Congressional District Visits initiative that took place during the 2025 August recess, SNAP is organizing a 2026 round of congressional district visits! This year, visits are particularly focused on the proposed OMB (Office of Management and Budget) federal financial assistance rule (Docket OMB-2026-0034) and its potential negative impacts on scientific researchers and the public.

SNAPStart: Mini-Grant Program for New SciPol Orgs

Does your university have a science policy club? If not, now’s your chance to start one! Applications are open through August 31st for our new program, SNAPStart, granting up to $1000 for newly formed or recently revived student science policy groups. Click here for more information, and here to apply– there’s still time!

Science Policy in a SNAP - SNAP Blog

You can access our blog, Science Policy in a SNAP, on our website or give us a follow on Medium, where you’ll hear from a variety of SNAP member voices on diverse science and science-policy topics.

Earlier this month, in their article, ““Why build a $4B space telescope?,” SNAPpers Bryce Wedig, Andrew Mattson, Yanbo Pan, and Rishika Porandla discussed the technological and scientific advances the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will enable. Read it here. Last week, Brandon Emanuel León wrote about the importance of publicly accessible science in his article “Science on Tap: Serving up Science to Community Members in Miami.” The piece, which you can read here, highlights an exciting event hosted at a brewery in Miami, where community members came together to learn about and share the scientific research happening at the University of Miami.

Be sure to follow us on Medium to read the upcoming pieces!

Have an idea for a post? Contact us and let us know.

Stance on Science

Stance on Science participants are asking science policy-related questions of candidates running in local, state, and national races during the 2026 elections. State teams have started to develop their questionnaires, plan candidate outreach, and set up town halls in their communities. This is a great time to get involved and make sure science policy issues important to your community are included as teams begin to contact campaigns, especially with November election efforts ramping up in many states!

Check out responses we’ve already received from candidates across several states at the Stance on Science website, and read more about the initiative in recent press mentions, including one from this month in the Concord Monitor.

We still need volunteers! If you’re interested in helping out as a state lead or a volunteer, please fill out this sign-up form. Please spread the word! We are particularly looking for constituents in Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Virginia to help these teams grow!

Don’t see your state in this list? That means you get to join a larger team! The more people we have from as many districts in as many states as possible, the broader the reach of the initiative, so please sign up! Reach out to snapscipolorg@gmail.com with any questions.

SciPol Course

SNAP is wrapping up the development of a modular science policy curriculum covering topics such as What is Science Policy?, How Government Works, Writing for Policymakers, Science Communication & Public Speaking, and Science Diplomacy. Stay tuned– the final curriculum is projected for release in September! Need a module sooner for your science policy group? Reach out to snapscipolorg@gmail.com.

External Opportunities

Fellowships and Jobs: Newly Hiring

• Scholars at Risk Network Program Associate, Research & Learning / Research Scientist
• Applications to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Hellman and Simons Fellow for Science, Engineering, & Technology are due September 19th.
• Applications for the University of Chicago’s Harris Social Impact Fellowship are now open.
• Applications for the Storytelling Research Fellows program at the University of the Arts London are due September 11th.
• The Radiological Society is hiring a Government Relations Manager.
• Agents of Change is accepting applications to their annual fellowship through October 1st.
• The Appalachian Mountain Club is hiring a Mid-Atlantic Conservation Policy Manager.
• Conserve Wildlife New Jersey is hiring a Communications & Development Manager.

Fellowships and Jobs: From Last Newsletter (Still Hiring!)

• Research Associate on the Science and Society team with Pew Research
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Strategic Communications & External Affairs (SC&EA) Science & Technology Communications Officer
• American Institute of Physics Science Policy Fellowship: State Department Placement
• Science Advisor for California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
• American Physical Society and American Astronomical Society Civic Science Fellow
• American Museum of Natural History Civic Science Fellow
• Program Associate – Neuroscience and Society with the Dana Foundation

Events

• Join us on September 23rd at 5pm ET for a panel on working at the intersection of Science and Law! Interested in how science is at play in the courts? Curious about a fellowship in the Judicial branch? Register ahead of time here!
• The Union of Concerned Scientists is hosting a Science Rising Call on Wednesday, September 2nd, from 3-4pm ET.
• The Union of Concerned Scientists is hosting a webinar titled, “Beyond the AI Race: Strategy, Accountability, and AI Governance in Canada and the United States” on September 2nd at 12pm ET.
• The Association of Science Communicators has started a monthly speaker series and monthly virtual networking! Check out those events here.

Resources and Opportunities

• The Massachusetts Science and Technology Policy Fellowship’s Scientific Citizenship Initiative is looking for input informing the creation of a new fellowship program! Have a minute? Even if you aren’t a Massachusetts resident, you can complete this survey!
• Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE)’s Environmental Justice Assistance Network invites Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island residents to join their Data Center Working Group.
• Applications to the University of Pennsylvania Kleinman Center for Energy Policy’s 2027 Utility Disconnections Community of Scholars Workshop are due October 2nd.
• Are you a graduate student who has been the lead author of a peer-reviewed article published in BioScience in the past year? If so, you are eligible for the AIBS Diana Wall Graduate Student Publication Excellence Award, which is accepting applications on a rolling basis.

DID YOU KNOW? SNAP hosts a community calendar where you can find these events and more!

Want to see your events shared with the SNAP community? Shoot us an email at snapscipolorg@gmail.com, and we will get it posted!

✨SNAPper Highlights and Achievements ✨

Check out these recent works by SNAP members and works mentioning SNAP members or initiatives!

• 🎉 A major congratulations to the newly-minted SNAP Drs. Brendon Davis, Amanda Finn, Emma-Rose Newmeyer, and Alex Rich! 🎉
• JP Flores and Hannah Frank published an article in Science Politics on the importance of developing better incentives for high quality, high-impact research.
• Daniel Affsprung, Olivia Asher, and Andrew Mattson published an article in Science Politics on scientific independence.
• Brendon Davis and Andrew Mattson published an article in the Baltimore Sun discussing the implications of a shift in the U.S. scientific research funding model.
• SNAPpers Olivia Asher, David Ramatowski, Gabriel Vega-Bellido, and Brendon Davis met up at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Olivia, David and Gabriel are incoming state science policy fellows in New York, West Virginia, and New Jersey respectively. Brendon is helping start up a state fellowship in Maryland. Learn more about state fellowships here.

Know someone who’d like to receive this newsletter? Have them join our Google Group Listserv. Email snapscipolorg@gmail.com with questions about SNAP or if you’d like to join our Slack.