Over 20 years of experience working on science policy issues, with particular emphasis on the scientific workforce and the research enterprise.
- Executive Director of two national organizations representing PhD trained scientists and scholars:
- Linguistic Society of America
- National Postdoctoral Association
- Board and volunteer leadership of two national organizations representing subsets of the scientific community:
- Representation on national coalitions and professional networks advocating for science policy solutions:
- Coalition for National Science Funding
- Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives
- Scientific Society CEOs Group
- Extensive knowledge of federal science infrastructure and staff at the following agencies and organizations:
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine
“Alyson is tremendously effective in her many roles. I got to know her shortly after she started her long tenure as Executive Director of the LSA. At the time, I was the nominee to serve as the incoming Vice President of the LSA, while also concluding my five-year appointment as the Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation, leading its Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate from 2005-2009. In both roles and subsequently as Publications Advisor to the LSA, I had the opportunity to partner with Alyson on many strategic priorities for both the Society and for the social science community more broadly. Alyson is highly skilled at building consensus around proactively addressing contentious and complex issues, whether they be external policy challenges or internal structural concerns. She was particularly effective in leading the LSA’s transition as the publisher of a single subscription journal to a suite of well-regarded open access publications, including sub-field journals, conference proceedings and archives of scholarly materials.”
David Lightfoot, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University
“I had the pleasure of working with Alyson in many different capacities over the past 10 years. It is clear that the Linguistic Society of America is a more effective, mission-driven organization thanks to her leadership. She worked with members to formulate clear, actionable goals, and then she made sure that those goals were achieved. I have learned a great deal from watching Alyson in action working on policy and outreach goals. Her deep knowledge of how Washington works has benefited our organization in many different ways.”
Colin Phillips, Director, Language Science Center, University of Maryland
