IARPC Secretariat
Nancy Sung
Executive Director
Nancy.S.Sung@ostp.eop.gov
Nancy Sung, Ph.D., serves as the Assistant Director for Polar Sciences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as the Executive Director of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (). In this role, she leads implementation of the 2022-2026 Federal Arctic Research Plan. She is on detail assignment from the National Science Foundation (), where she has served as Science Policy Advisor in the Office of Polar Programs since 2020, focusing on Arctic and Antarctic policy, international engagement, and polar science strategy. From 2014-2018, she was Head of ’s China Office, while serving as a Science Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Other positions held since joining in 2011 include Deputy Head (Acting) of the Office of International Science and Engineering, Science Advisor, Biological Sciences, and Program Director. Dr. Sung earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH).
Lesley Anderson
Acting Executive Secretary
leanders@associates.nsf.gov
Lesley Anderson received her B.S. in biology from Cal Poly, M.S. in chemistry from South Dakota State, and her Ed.D in science educational leadership from San Diego State. Lesley is a former science educator and administrator at the project-based High Tech High schools in San Diego. Over the past decade she has engaged in diverse science experiences each summer, including tracking breaching great white sharks in South Africa, working as a data analyst for at JPL, conducting sea turtle genetics research for , analyzing ice core samples from Greenland and Antarctica, sailing aboard the JOIDES Resolution supporting scientific ocean drilling, trekking to the South Pole as a PolarTREC teacher to hunt neutrinos, and serving as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the Library of Congress. Lesley worked for the Antarctic Support Contract as a Science Planner before stepping into her current role as a Science Project Manager with QED supporting the Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program at the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Natalie Wagner
Acting Executive Secretary
Natalie.Wagner@usda.gov
Natalie Wagner is State Engineer and Environmental Coordinator for the Department of Agriculture with Rural Development, focusing on water and waste infrastructure and community facilities in rural Alaska. She is also temporarily serving as the Executive Secretary of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee. She received a B.S. in Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a M. S. in Civil Engineering, Water Resources from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She has been in Alaska since 2013 and is based in Eagle River. Prior to working for , she worked for the State of Alaska in the State Revolving Fund and for the Wastewater Discharge Programs in Alaska, and worked internationally, mostly in Norway, on the research and development team for a fortune 100 company.
Sorina Stalla
Implementation Director
sorina@iarpccollaborations.org
Sorina started with in 2020 and serves as a the Implementation Director. Sorina's past work has focused on different aspects of partnership development, improving science-policy interfaces, and enhancing education initiatives aimed at the federal workforce. She holds a Masters Degree in International Environmental Policy and Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.
Liz Weinberg
Engagement Director
liz@iarpccollaborations.org
Liz Weinberg (she/they) joined in 2020. She previously served as the digital outreach coordinator and writer/editor for 's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, where she focused on increasing public engagement in and awareness of marine protected areas. Liz has a background in science communication and writing: she holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington, and is the author of a book of essays about climate change, wilderness, and queerness. She is based in unceded Chinook lands / Portland, Oregon.
Meredith LaValley
Policy Analyst & Director of Collaboration Team Activities
meredith@iarpccollaborations.org
Meredith recently completed her Master's in Environmental Policy at Bard College, where she focuses much of her independent studies on Arctic issues, and her thesis focused on understanding knowledge exchange within Collaboration teams. She recently relocated to Anchorage, Alaska, where she will work closely with the Alaska-based Collaborations community.
Hazel Shapiro
US Program Analyst
hazel@iarpccollaborations.org
Hazel joined the Secretariat in 2020. She has a BA in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College where she studied regional weather patterns in Denali, AK. Since then, she has been working in the conservation/non-profit sector, often focused on collaborative project management.
John Nauliar Orr
Indigenous Engagement and Communication Specialist
john@iarpccollaborations.org
Nauliar/John joined in 2023 as the Indigenous Engagement and Communication Specialist (IECS). Born on the Bering Sea coast, John was raised in Tununak on the island of Qaluyaat (Nelson Island) where he was taught by his grandfather Maklak and other Elders the traditional Yup'ik ways of being. He has a background in outreach and communication in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region on a variety of issues important to the Tribes and their members. He is now based out of Fairbanks, Alaska as a guest on Lower Tanana Dene Lands.
Toni O'Boyle
Policy Analyst and Coordinator
toni@iarpccollaborations.org
Toni joined the Secretariat in 2023. After receiving a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, she started her career in public relations in Washington, D.C. Her years in the communications field involved team and project management, campaign strategy, and content development in the agriculture, pharmaceutical, energy, and manufacturing industries. Originally from northern Virginia, she is now based in Denver, Colorado.
Alie Lepp
Knauss Fellow
allison.lepp@noaa.gov
Alie is a 2024 John A. Knauss Marine Science Policy Fellow in 's Global Ocean Monitoring Program. She is actively involved with the Field Operations Community of Practice and leads the vessel and mooring matrices. Alie finished her PhD at the University of Virginia in 2023 before relocating to Washington, DC. Her graduate work and research interests involve improving our connections between subglacial processes and sedimentary archives recovered offshore of glaciers draining into the ocean, and taking action to move the polar sciences towards a more equitable, accessible, and inclusive field.
Caitlynn Tautuk Hanna
Indigenous Leadership Fellow
tautuk@iarpccollaborations.org
Caitlynn is an Iñupiaq person born and raised in Alaska and is deeply rooted in their indigenous culture and traditional activities. They are on track to complete their Master's degree in Civil Engineering with a focus on permafrost research from the University of Alaska Fairbanks () in August 2024. She received her Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering in 2022 from . Upon graduating they hope to incorporate their indigenous identity into addressing the unique challenges facing her Arctic homeland.
Michele Yatchmeneff
Indigenous Leadership Fellow
michele@iarpccollaborations.org
Michele is a Unangax^ with roots in King Cove and False Pass. She is the only Alaska Native in the world with a PhD in Engineering Education. Her doctorial work focused on the motivation and success of pre-college Alaska Native STEM students. She became the first Alaska Native woman to teach in the College of Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Her current research focuses on the belongingness of Alaska Natives in STEM and Indigenizing education. In 2018, Michele received the prestigious National Science Foundation () CAREER Award, honoring her work on “Alaska Native Belonging in High School Math and Science Classrooms.” This award was the first and only CAREER award granted at UAA until 2023. Michele was promoted to Associate Professor of Engineering in 2021. Michele has committed her career to improving Alaska Native success and was hired to serve on UAA’s Chancellor’s cabinet in an inaugural position as Executive Director for Alaska Native Education & Outreach in October 2021. She was recently awarded the national College Board Dr. Henrietta Mann Leadership Award.