California is a state where science thrives, and CCST works at that vibrant, critical intersection of helping science inform public policy. As anti-science and anti-media sentiments sweep the popular discourse in the United States, we find ourselves discussing how policymakers and journalists sort fact from fiction --- and how we can help facilitate fact-based decision-making by our citizens and leaders.

This was the focus of "Informing Public Policy in a 'Post-Facts' World" --- a discussion panel at the Southern California Grantmakers 2017 Public Policy Conference on April 6th, hosted at the California Endowment in Los Angeles. I was honored to join moderator Steven Bliss of the California Budget & Policy Center and serve as a panelist, along with Larry Ingrassia, managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, and reporter Laurel Rosenhall of CALmatters.

Our audience was a who's-who gathering of philanthropic leaders, program managers, and nonprofit thinkers from around Southern California. The enthusiasm to listen, learn, and innovate was palpable in the room. It also didn't hurt to have our friend and champion Bernadette Glenn of the WHH Foundation present --- I always appreciate her encouraging advice and infectious energy.

In the conversation, I mostly focused on where policymakers tend to get information they trust, and how CCST serves as a resource to the State leaders in this capacity.

Lawmakers rely on information from people or organizations they trust, with their legislative staff serving at the top of the list. Of course, our CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship was created precisely to increase the State Legislature's access to science-savvy staff. Having PhD scientists on staff offers legislators an in-house resource to review and advise, in real-time, on any policy issue through a scientific lens. Sometimes it's their subject matter expertise that comes in handy, but more often than not, it's the critical thinking, research, problem solving, and communication skills our CCST Science Fellows bring to the table that make the difference.

Charitable foundations, too, can benefit from having science-savvy staff on hand --- an idea I shared with our panel audience. Funders needing to decide which programs to fund, or how to assess proposed projects for efficacy, often hire staff or seek consultants with technical training in that social impact space --- be it environmental quality, biomedical research, or poverty alleviation. Our friends at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation already leverage such strengths: a number of Moore Foundation program managers hold PhDs in the sciences. By tapping into credible experts and vetting information, scientists can help philanthropists craft fact-based underwriting strategies --- and maximize the impact of their charitable gifts.

Fortunately, more and more scientists and students are interested in learning the craft of science translation, actively pursuing careers in this path, or seeking training to add public communication and policy analysis as part of their academia toolkit. And organizations like ours as well as AAAS, and our partners who are receiving our State Fellowships Planning Grant, are doing our best to prepare this next generation of science translators to work in policy, media, and philanthropic arenas.

All of this gives me hope --- and confidence --- that we aren't living in a "post-fact world" after all. Long after these anti-science winds fade into history, there will still be scientists trained and ready to advise us towards the future.