Notices of the American Mathematical Society
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From Academic to Advocate
When I tell others about my experience as the AMS Congressional Fellow, a question I often get asked in return is, “Did you do any math?” (This is usually said with a skeptical tone, as if assuming that the answer will be no.) While it is true that my research in harmonic analysis did not directly apply to my work on Capitol Hill, the skills I developed during my doctoral studies in mathematics—learning complex, abstract topics; using logical reasoning; and teaching technical concepts to others—were broadly applicable to the policy work I did. Most importantly, my experience in Congress helped me learn to be a better advocate for mathematics research and education.
The AMS Congressional Fellowship is part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellowship program. Each year, AAAS and other scientific societies like the AMS select a group of fellows to spend a year working in the federal government. Fellows come from a broad range of scientific disciplines—like psychology, computer science, or astrophysics—and from a variety of career stages; while many fellows (like myself) graduated from a doctoral program only a year or two before their fellowship year, other fellows are tenured faculty who are completing the fellowship during a sabbatical year. During my fellowship year, 237 fellows served in the executive branch, 38 served in the legislative branch, and one served in the judicial branch.
The AMS Congressional Fellow and other AAAS Science & Technology Policy Legislative Branch Fellows are placed in the offices of representatives, senators, House committees, and Senate committees. Fellows help research and write legislation, letters, and briefing memos to members of Congress; meet with constituents from the district or state that their office represents; and often provide technical support for their office’s science policy work. During my fellowship year, I had the privilege of working in the office of Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), one of my home state senators. I joined a small team of people who worked on the senator’s education and immigration policy.
While I had no specific background in education or immigration policy, I believe that my graduate mathematics coursework and research were excellent preparation for a position on the Hill. Many areas of pure mathematics, and much of graduate mathematics coursework, involve learning about abstract structures: trying to understand the behavior of an object based only on a few key characteristics of that object. This was great training for an environment like Congress, where as a staffer you are constantly being presented with complicated information that you need to understand quickly, such as last-minute amendments to a bill, or a technical scientific topic that an advocacy group has requested a meeting to discuss. My familiarity with mathematical proofs was also extremely beneficial when reading bills and amendments that contain careful logical reasoning. (That being said, I did at one point have a long discussion with a lawyer friend about how certain instances of logical implication statements in bill language would, to my surprise, actually be interpreted as if-and-only-if statements.)
Beyond being prepared to pick up complicated concepts quickly, and to be comfortable reading legal language, my teaching experience gave me a strong background in explaining complex concepts clearly. This is also a crucial skill to have on the Hill. It is not enough to be able to understand those last-minute amendments, or those technical scientific topics; you must also be able to summarize and make vote recommendations for those amendments, and clearly explain those technical scientific topics to your colleagues who didn’t attend the meeting.
I was drawn to the AMS Congressional Fellowship because I want to help improve the mathematical and scientific literacy of the general public. While I did not usually speak directly to the public in my role, my colleagues and I supported Senator Casey’s public engagements by providing clearly written background material on complicated policy topics. In the course of my work on education policy, I learned more about our education system and about how to effectively advocate for improvements in mathematics education and education in general.
An unexpected benefit of my time in Congress was that I became somewhat of a math ambassador in my office. I was fortunate to work with curious and bright colleagues who wanted to learn more about both practical math topics and theoretical ones. In one instance, I was asked to explain whether a set of growth rates was being calculated correctly. In another instance, when our office was notified about a National Science Foundation (NSF) career grant awarded to someone in Pennsylvania, my colleagues asked me about it, and I was able to give them a general sense of the research and why it mattered. These situations allowed me to increase my colleagues’ comfort levels with math and emphasize the importance of mathematics education and basic research. My colleagues would also ask me about my own research, and just by talking to them about my experience in academia, I was able to help demystify math research and make it more approachable.
I would encourage any mathematician interested in public service to consider the AMS Congressional Fellowship or one of the other AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowships. The AMS Congressional Fellowship is a fascinating and enriching professional experience. It allows mathematicians to bring their unique and valuable skills to the world of policymaking, and helps policymakers better understand the importance of mathematics literacy, education, and research. I am deeply grateful to the AMS for sponsoring this fellowship and providing me with this incredible opportunity.
Learn about the AMS Congressional Fellowship and apply at https://www.ams.org/ams-congressional-fellowship. Applications are open until February 1, 2025.
Ellen Urheim was the AMS Congressional Fellow 2023–2024
Article DOI: 10.1090/noti3102
Credits
Photo of Ellen Urheim is courtesy of Hannah Valdiviejas.