This Trump administration whistleblower has some advice for young scientists | Science | AAAS: Q: For readers who aren’t familiar with your story, can you take us back to what led to your op-ed in The Washington Post and eventual resignation?
A: I was the director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the Department of the Interior, and in that role was the climate change lead for the agency.
I spent most of my time on the impacts of climate change on Alaska Native villages in the Arctic and the implications for these people for getting them out of harms way. These villages are perched on melting permafrost on a coastline that is no longer protected by sea ice most of the year, and every fall we cross our fingers that a big storm doesn’t wipe one of them off the map.
I went from that job to being reassigned to the office that collects royalty checks from the oil and gas industry. The political appointees were sending a very clear signal they wanted me to quit. And it was inappropriate and it was retaliation. They also reassigned a very disproportionate number of American Indians at the same time. So there was discrimination and retaliation; they checked all the boxes for bad management.
Q: What was the hardest part about transitioning away from civil service?
A: It was difficult to leave because working in the federal government exceeded all of my expectations in terms of access and impact. You can’t do a lot of those things from outside government. You can throw ideas over the castle walls, but until you’re inside you don’t know how those ideas take.
In my case, they’d already taken the job I was there to do and all I had left was my voice. It became clear that if I was going to be effective any longer it had to be outside the agency. So I have no regrets about leaving.
Q: What are you doing now?
A: Since January, I’ve been a senior fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working on scientific integrity. The Harvard Kennedy School recently spun up an Arctic initiative, so they brought me on a senior fellow with that as well.
I’ve essentially taken my portfolio into these other arenas. I’m able to continue my work and, under the current circumstances, can be more influential and effective in these roles. So it’s worked out.
Q: What’s your advice for other potential whistleblowers?
A: You should say something if you’re being asked to do something that goes against your values or the mission of the agency, or if it’s an issue that’s important to the health and safety of Americans. But before you do anything, get to know your rights and protections and what could happen to you.
You have to figure out where you draw the line between keeping your head down and raising your hand. That line is different with every issue and every individual.
I understand why people don’t do it. They have families to support, mortgages, health insurance, and so on. They may also view their particular issue as not being a big enough deal.
But one thing I’ve learned from working with journalists is there are a lot more stories out there than people think, and they’re more interesting to people than you would guess. So I always encourage people to talk, but I’m a rabble-rouser.
A: I was the director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the Department of the Interior, and in that role was the climate change lead for the agency.
I spent most of my time on the impacts of climate change on Alaska Native villages in the Arctic and the implications for these people for getting them out of harms way. These villages are perched on melting permafrost on a coastline that is no longer protected by sea ice most of the year, and every fall we cross our fingers that a big storm doesn’t wipe one of them off the map.
I went from that job to being reassigned to the office that collects royalty checks from the oil and gas industry. The political appointees were sending a very clear signal they wanted me to quit. And it was inappropriate and it was retaliation. They also reassigned a very disproportionate number of American Indians at the same time. So there was discrimination and retaliation; they checked all the boxes for bad management.
Q: What was the hardest part about transitioning away from civil service?
A: It was difficult to leave because working in the federal government exceeded all of my expectations in terms of access and impact. You can’t do a lot of those things from outside government. You can throw ideas over the castle walls, but until you’re inside you don’t know how those ideas take.
In my case, they’d already taken the job I was there to do and all I had left was my voice. It became clear that if I was going to be effective any longer it had to be outside the agency. So I have no regrets about leaving.
Q: What are you doing now?
A: Since January, I’ve been a senior fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working on scientific integrity. The Harvard Kennedy School recently spun up an Arctic initiative, so they brought me on a senior fellow with that as well.
I’ve essentially taken my portfolio into these other arenas. I’m able to continue my work and, under the current circumstances, can be more influential and effective in these roles. So it’s worked out.
Q: What’s your advice for other potential whistleblowers?
A: You should say something if you’re being asked to do something that goes against your values or the mission of the agency, or if it’s an issue that’s important to the health and safety of Americans. But before you do anything, get to know your rights and protections and what could happen to you.
You have to figure out where you draw the line between keeping your head down and raising your hand. That line is different with every issue and every individual.
I understand why people don’t do it. They have families to support, mortgages, health insurance, and so on. They may also view their particular issue as not being a big enough deal.
But one thing I’ve learned from working with journalists is there are a lot more stories out there than people think, and they’re more interesting to people than you would guess. So I always encourage people to talk, but I’m a rabble-rouser.