Join us on Wednesday, November 16th from 6 – 7 p.m. ET featuring STPF alum Shavonn Whiten, 2019-21 Executive Branch Fellow, USAID and Lead Scientist with Booz Allen Hamilton.
Join us on Wednesday, November 16th from 6 – 7 p.m. ET featuring STPF alum Shavonn Whiten, 2019-21 Executive Branch Fellow, USAID and Lead Scientist with Booz Allen Hamilton.
First Name of Speaker Speaker Last Name, Speaker Position and Role, Shavonn Whiten, Lead Scientist with Booz Allen Hamilton
Shavonn is a Lead Scientist with Booz Allen Hamilton where she is establishing and expanding client work in the International Agricultural Development sector. Before this, Whiten was a 2019-21 STPF fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) where she managed U.S. investments in agricultural biotechnology research in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Bangladesh. Based on her entomology training, she served as technical advisor to USAID’s Chief Scientist in his role as Chair of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control Technical Committee. She was also on the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Current and Emerging Threats to Crops Design Team and took a lead role in designing USAID’s Agricultural Biotechnology portfolio.
In 2021, Shavonn was as a Department of State Embassy Science Fellow in Lima where she provided technical guidance and developed an in-country field program to inform policy and regulatory recommendations to USDA APHIS leadership and the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture. Shavonn earned her Bachelor of Science from Xavier University of Louisiana (2011), and her Masters and Doctorate in Entomology from Montana State University (2014) and Texas A&M University (2018), respectively.
Shavonn is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is dedicated to bridging the global gap for science, technology, and policy to benefit all mankind.
Shavonn Whiten, Lead Scientist with Booz Allen Hamilton
Shavonn is a Lead Scientist with Booz Allen Hamilton where she is establishing and expanding client work in the International Agricultural Development sector. Before this, Whiten was a 2019-21 STPF fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) where she managed U.S. investments in agricultural biotechnology research in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Bangladesh. Based on her entomology training, she served as technical advisor to USAID’s Chief Scientist in his role as Chair of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control Technical Committee. She was also on the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Current and Emerging Threats to Crops Design Team and took a lead role in designing USAID’s Agricultural Biotechnology portfolio.
In 2021, Shavonn was as a Department of State Embassy Science Fellow in Lima where she provided technical guidance and developed an in-country field program to inform policy and regulatory recommendations to USDA APHIS leadership and the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture. Shavonn earned her Bachelor of Science from Xavier University of Louisiana (2011), and her Masters and Doctorate in Entomology from Montana State University (2014) and Texas A&M University (2018), respectively.
Shavonn is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is dedicated to bridging the global gap for science, technology, and policy to benefit all mankind.
Rashada Alexander, STPF Director, AAAS
Rashada Alexander provides strategic leadership for the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships program (STPF). With a team of about 20 staff and a $16+ million-dollar annual budget, she administers programming and professional development for more than 250 fellows annually in the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the U.S. government. As an STPF alumna fellow (2009-11, Executive Branch, U.S. Agency for International Development), she puts her experience to good use in leading the next evolution of the program and ensuring it continues to excel in connecting scientific expertise with policymaking.
Watch the March Alumni Session with Dr. Tracee Gilbert Walker
Dr. Tracee Walker Gilbert is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at System Innovation. System Innovation has provided engineering services to various clients in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) and the Department of Navy Modeling and Simulation. Additionally, System Innovation is engineering next generation technologies (i.e., blockchain, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing). Dr. Gilbert has over 22 years of experience leading large-scale initiatives and driving strategy and implementation for digital engineering, engineering research, and engineering programs across various domains including: defense, homeland security, medical and public health, commerce/census, and the education sector. Tune in to Tracee and Rashada's conversation here.
