College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Alumni & Friends

What would you do if you were in a basement in Washington, D.C., surrounded by a series of doors—none of which had an actual handle? 

Meredith Gore, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and the School of Criminal Justice, recently found herself in just such a place.  As she stood there, staring at the handleless doors, she thought of how she got there.

Gore is currently serving as a Jefferson Science Fellow in the U.S. Department of State. The Jefferson Science Fellowship program places tenured faculty members from U.S. universities in the State Department or at USAID, where they spend a year away from their academic institution, working for the federal government as science advisors on foreign policy and international development issues.

Gore’s responsibilities include providing expertise on the rapidly changing environment and in the science, technology and health arenas, including wildlife trafficking and climate change. The environmental consequences of these matters routinely influence policy decisions confronted by the U.S. Department of State—and the science must be accurate and up-to-date for the State Department to respond responsibly and appropriately. Gore has to be ready at all times to thoroughly answer information requests from all areas of the intelligence community from all parts of the world.

Although there was a day when Gore was unsure of which door to go through, she quickly figured it out. Just as she is navigating her way through the international intelligence community as the first Jefferson Science Fellow from Michigan State University.

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canr.msu.edu/inthefield