Staff Fellow
Shannon Erwin
STEM to the State House
Fellowship Area: Public Engagement
Department: Eagleton Science and Politics Program, New Brunswick
Biography
Known for her dedication, creativity, and enthusiasm, Shannon is committed to fostering lasting relationships at the Eagleton Institute of Politics while championing the advancement of science and politics in the state of New Jersey. Before joining the team at Rutgers, Shannon held positions in the development and alumni affairs offices at the School of Visual Arts in New York, NY; in the marketing department at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY; in the planning and development department of the City of Newark, DE; on the digital strategy and product development team of RollDeep in Lenox, MA; and in the customer relations and strategic partnership group of Powersimple in New York, NY.
Shannon graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She is a bridge-builder, an avid civil servant, and passionate about forging connections between people to foster positive change in the communities in which she lives and works. Shannon is a proud resident of Mercer County, NJ, where she lives with her husband, three children, and two dogs.
Fellowship Project
Under RDL's Faculty and Staff Democracy Fellowship, Shannon and her colleague Kristoffer Shields plan to launch STEM to the State House, a new student cohort under The Eagleton Science and Politics Program which has long been New Jersey's trusted nonpartisan bridge between researchers and state government.
STEM to the State House will build a cohort of Rutgers graduate students and advanced undergraduates (seniors and exceptional juniors with relevant coursework or research experience), whose course of study is in science, engineering, or the health professions. Building off ESPP's Civic Fluency curriculum, students will identify one or two live bills in their fields, analyze the open technical questions, and travel to Trenton to meet the bills' sponsors or other interested decision-makers, listening first, then offering feedback grounded in their scientific and civic training. The year closes with a public event where the cohort shares what they heard and contributed.