Three FFAR Students Visit Congress
Doctoral students Haowen Hu, Gwyneth Frederick, and Marjorie Hanneman met with Josh Riley, representative for New York's 19th District.
March 24, 2025
By Katya Hrichak
Three Cornell doctoral students supported by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) Fellowship Program visited Washington, D.C. in late February to advocate for agricultural science, learn about careers in policymaking, and better understand the intersection of science and policy.
Plant breeding doctoral candidate Marjorie Hanneman, nutrition doctoral candidate Gwyneth Frederick, and animal science doctoral student Haowen Hu visited seven offices representing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, which included a meeting with Josh Riley, representative for New York’s 19th District.
“It was my first time on Capitol Hill, and I appreciated the chance to educate staff and representatives on the importance of agricultural research and FFAR,” said Hu. “This visit not only deepened my understanding of legislative processes in food and agriculture but also highlighted the importance of clear, informed advocacy.”
These meetings, in addition to teaching the students about policymaking, also gave them an opportunity to hone their transferrable skills: Teamwork, time management, coordination, leadership, advocacy, and effective communication skills were all employed over the course of the day.
“We had a limited amount of time to convince the representative or their aid that our agricultural research and professional development training mattered, meaning we ourselves had to understand the ultimate impact of our work and communicate that impact quickly, clearly, and passionately,” said Frederick. “I personally learned how to hone my ‘elevator speech’ down to a few seconds – talk about learning effective science communication on the job.”
Hanneman appreciated learning what components of agricultural research policymakers and their staffers were interested in and feeling that she had an influence.
“Putting a face to a name helps bridge the gap between science and policymakers, an essential component to reducing mistrust of science and combating disinformation,” she said. “While I am only one individual among many affected, I am honored to represent scientists, particularly in agriculture. The more stories and research that can be amplified in visits like this, the more we help strengthen science for generations to come.”
The FFAR Fellows Program was created by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to provide career guidance and professional development to the next generation of food and agriculture scientists pursuing work in FFAR’s challenge areas and strategic initiatives.