CIRES Research Affiliate Carrie McDougall has been awarded the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for her outstanding accomplishments as a NOAA civil servant. This prestigious award recognizes her instrumental role in advancing community resilience education through the development of NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program and her leadership of the Science On a Sphere Network.

The ASTC praised McDougall’s career-long commitment to science education and her efforts to connect federal resources with community needs. As a senior education program manager in NOAA’s Office of Education, Carrie helped establish lasting partnerships with science centers across the country, empowering them to support local priorities through environmental literacy, distributed research, and community science.

Carrie recently retired from federal service at NOAA, leaving behind a legacy of transformative programs that continue to impact communities nationwide. 

“Carrie makes a great example of a dedicated federal agency staff member who has long supported ASTC and informal science learning. She has been a really important champion of community science work that has funded science centers to more deeply support the priorities of their communities through distributed research, environmental literacy, and other related programs.”

We congratulate Carrie on this well-deserved recognition and thank her for her lasting contributions to science education and public engagement.