In this Center for the Environment sponsored distinguished lecture event, Dr. Frances Colón, science and environmental policy expert and science diplomat during the Obama administration (DoS 2006-2017), will discuss the key role of science and innovation for strengthening diplomacy and development cooperation between the United States and Latin America. After her presentation, she will be joined by Anne Slaughter Andrew, Former U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica in the Obama Administration (DoS 2008-2013) for a follow-up discussion.

Dr. Frances Colón

Dr. Frances Colón is the former Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State at the U.S. State Department. As a science diplomat in Washington D.C. from 2006 - 2017, Dr. Colón promoted integration of science and technology into foreign policy dialogues, global advancement of women in science, and coordinated climate change policy for President Obama’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas.  Dr. Colón earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2004 from Brandeis University and her B.S. in Biology in 1997 from the University of Puerto Rico. She currently specializes in advising on science policy and evidence-based decision-making for governments.  As an Open Society Foundations 2019 Leadership in Government Fellow, Dr. Colón worked to catalyze policy action to counter the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities in Florida. Dr. Colón is a 2020 Yale-OpEd Project Public Voices on the Climate Crisis Fellow, and a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, New Voices Project, the Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability, and the Global Science Diplomacy Roundtable.

Ambassador Anne Slaughter Andrew

After serving as our U.S. Ambassador in Costa Rica under President Obama (2010-2013) and a 20+ year prior career as an Energy and Environmental Attorney, former Amb. Andrew was appointed on Oct. 16th, 2019 to the Board of Sunnova Energy International, Inc., a public solar energy service company (NOVA) and serves as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Ms. Andrew is an investor and serves on the Board of several private companies focused on sustainable solutions, including Ad Astra Rocket Company (2014 to present) and Metalub Soluciones Verdes MSV S.A. (2015- to present), a Central American venture to collect and recycle used lubricant oil. In addition, she is a social entrepreneur investing, advising and advocating for sustainably-focused initiatives, including co-founding in 2009 TerViva,LLC, an agro-technology company developing environmentally-sustainable crops for food and fuel; and through the  work of her consulting company WindRun Strategies, LLC (2018-to present). In her role on the Board of The NewDEAL (2017 to present), a rising stars network of exceptional state and local elected officials, she launched the Climate Forum. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the NewDEAL (Chair, Governance), former Amb. Andrew also serves on the Board of the Natural Resources Defense Council (Chair, Governance and Executive Committee), and on the Telluride Foundation (Executive Committee) in Telluride, Colorado. Ms. Andrew holds a B.A. degree from Georgetown University and received her J.D. from Indiana University McKinney School of Law, which recently awarded her the Bicentennial Medal for distinguished service.