During those four years, I became involved in local political issues and invested time in courses offered by the School of Journalism to sharpen my writing and communications skills. Toward the conclusion of my doctoral work, I discovered that the AAAS had launched a fellowship program that brought scientists to Washington, DC, for a year. I spent a stimulating year with the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Youth, bringing psychological science to bear on such issues as education for handicapped children, developmental disabilities, life-long learning, and day care regulation. The Research Council occupies a unique position in national affairs by bringing the expertise of scientists and engineers to bear on issues of significance to the country. It is the role of the staff officer to become familiar with the information needs of the office or agency requesting input from the scientific community, assemble a committee of experts, generate the information the committee needs to form conclusions and recommendations, and then assist the committee in achieving consensus.
Staff also play a role in summarizing the views of the committee in a report to the project sponsor.
Staff experiences vary widely, but in my case, I acquired strong survey research and data acquisition skills, in addition to those related to consensus building and communication. By the time I left the Research Council in 1995, I had contributed to many studies in education and training. I was also fortunate to serve as the first staff officer for the U.S. Committee to the International Union of Psychological Science. My career progress can be described as a combination of increasing skill acquisition and management responsibility. I worked specifically as the Executive Secretary for the Panel on Behavioral Sciences, as well as the Panels on Health Services Research and on Nursing Research.