Berkeley in DC: Stories from Experts Who Influenced Policy in the Nation’s Capital

Co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley School of Information and the Goldman School of Public Policy

Across decades, UC Berkeley faculty and students have served in various roles as policymakers and advisors in Washington, D.C. This panel of recent public servants will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how they landed in Washington, what they did and learned, and what lessons they are bringing back to campus.  Join us to hear their stories and advice.  This panel is intended for anyone interested in public service or how science and knowledge inform and become public policy.  

Small bites and refreshments will be served.

Panelists

Ronald C. Cohen

Professor of Chemistry; Professor of Earth and Planetary Science; Associate Dean, Division of Computing, Data Science and Society. Director of the Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Office in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 2024-2025 

Inez Fung

Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Rausser College of Natural Resources; President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) 2021-2024; National Science Board 2012-2018

Deirdre Mulligan

Professor, School of Information and a faculty Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. Principal Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Deputy Director for Technology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Director of the National AI Initiative Office: 2023-2024

Michael Plancarte

UC Berkeley student. Intern, Technology Team, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy  Jan 2024 - May 2024; United States AI Safety Institute Sep 2024 - Present

Ashley White

Deputy Director for Strategy, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Materials Research Society/Optica Congressional Science & Engineering Fellow in the US Senate (2010-11), AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research (2011-13)

Lara Zangana

UC Berkeley student. Undergraduate researcher and a Cal-in-Sacramento Fellow with the Institute of Governmental Studies. Policy Intern, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (September–December 2024)

Jane Lubchenco (moderator)

2025 Charles M and Martha Hitchcock Lecturer; Distinguished University Professor of Integrative Biology and Valley Professor of Marine Biology, Oregon State University. National Science Board Member 1996-2006; Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Member of President Barack Obama’s Science Team, 2009-2013; U.S. Science Envoy for the Ocean 2014-2016; Deputy Director for Climate and Environment, White House Office of Science and  Technology Policy 

Note: Saul Perlmutter, professor of Physics and senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was initially scheduled to speak at this event as well, but was unable to attend.