Nicole joined the Institute for Science & Policy in December of 2019. She manages projects, organizes events, and assists in the operations and scaling of the Institute. Her proudest achievement with the Institute thus far is receiving the Excellence in Institutional Writing Award from the National Association of Science Writers for the podcast series, Laws of Notion. 

Nicole has a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition Communication and a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language. She loves to help her students understand the language and culture of the United States. When she isn’t hiking with her dogs, Nicole spends her leisure time refurbishing furniture and painting.

Kate Long is an Engagement and Policy Specialist at the Institute for Science & Policy. She is a former community resilience consultant, with a dedication to equitable public policy and community building. In her past role, she collaborated with state and local governments throughout the United States on projects related to hazard mitigation planning, resiliency building, invasive species management, flood mitigation, and federal grant administration.

Kate holds a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Policy from Cornell University. As a former resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands, she is passionate about disaster risk reduction and preparedness. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog, watching movies, and baking desserts for friends and family.

Tricia Waddell is a content strategist, editor and storyteller passionate about creating multi-media content that is approachable, inspirational, inclusive and empowering. She has held many editorial leadership roles in publishing houses and media companies creating educational content for books, magazines, digital, and video. Former roles include Executive Content Director, Fine Art Division at Golden Peak Media and Head of Content and Video Production at Bluprint under NBC Universal. Prior to working in publishing she spent a decade in the non-profit sector as a community educator and grant writer focused on issues from conservation to public health.

When she’s not writing, she’s in her art studio creating and exhibiting her work as a textile artist, serving on the board of Tilt West, a platform for arts and culture discourse in Denver, or planning her next global travel adventure.

Kristan Uhlenbrock is the Executive Director of the Institute for Science & Policy, a project of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where she works to ensure science has a respected role in public discourse and policymaking. She is motivated by life’s interesting people, places, problems, and potential for advancing our understanding of the world and the solutions we need to sustain it.  

For the past two decades, she’s worked at the intersection of science, policy, community engagement, and communication for organizations like the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the Center for American Progress, the American Geophysical Union, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the White House. In 2023, she was the recipient of the National Academies Eric & Wendy Schmidt Excellence in Science Communication Award.  

Kristan values giving back through leadership and volunteer roles, including serving on boards and committees for the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, the American Meteorological Society, the Association of Science & Technology Centers, and the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains Board, as well as being a mentor for the Morgridge Acceleration Program and the Promoting Geoscience Research, Education, and Success Program. She was a CIVIC DNA Fellow and an ASTC Deliberation & Dialogue Fellow.  

In her free time, Kristan enjoys escaping to the outdoors, writing, and good food and drink with friends. 

George Sparks has been the President/CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science since November 2004. He spent 24 years in the electronics measurement business at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies. His career included marketing, sales, and general management of global businesses in software, systems, and services.

Prior to joining Hewlett-Packard, George spent 9 years in the Air Force as a pilot and as an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics at the USAF Academy (1976-1978). He is a Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Academy with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and holds an MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.

George's passion is public policy, particularly around science and education. He is a member of the Colorado Forum, Colorado Concern, and is on the Boards of Colorado Education Initiative, Colorado Business Round Table, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, Denver Council of Foreign Relations, and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

George is the founder of the Institute for Science & Policy, a program of the Museum.