PRE-MEETING WORKSHOP! MARCH 22 WITH Ben Young Landis AND Science Policy

Welcome to the Science Talk Blog’s Meet the Science Talk ‘21 Speaker series! Each week we will highlight some of our exciting speakers. Registration for Science Talk ‘21 is now open!

Photo courtesy of Ben Young Landis

​Ben is a SciComm Consultant and Coach at Creative Externalities. Ben is a consultant with experiences and insights from state and federal government and is an alum of the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship.

Ben will be leading our second pre-conference workshop! On Monday March 22nd, Ben Young-Landis and Gabby Nepomuceno will lead a 2-hour science policy communications workshop from 10 am-12 pm PT.

Get to know Ben

What’s the most rewarding piece you’ve produced or project you’ve worked on?

I believe in the power of one-on-one conversational practice, so the CCST Science Translators Showcase is near and dear to my heart. I created, designed, and launched this experiential program that trained graduate student researchers for an afternoon of conversational scicomm with California legislators and staffers. The Showcase has been replicated several times since, and many alumni have gone on to chart their own science policy careers!

When you’re feeling stuck or unproductive, what’s your trick for inspiration?

Literally doing anything else. Go read a fun story, watch a new show, take a walk in nature, or call up a friend to chat. Once you take that pressure off and expose yourself to the unexpected, you never know what new connections will spark in your brain. (Extra points for calling up a friend: some of my best ideas and collaborations have come from these check-in conversations.)

​What are you most excited about for SciTalk 2021?

​It's wonderful to see how Science Talk has grown into such a welcoming, buzzing community — and it's barely five years old! My favorite part about Science Talk events is that everyone attending is a star in their own way. Whether you're a seasoned speaker or a first-time attendee, you have something valuable to offer that someone else can learn from. These are humble, generous, and accessible gatherings, and I'm excited to see others discover this for themselves at #SciTalk21.