The first 100 days are often celebrated as a milestone. Whether in school or in public life, they are thought to set the tone for what follows. January 21st marked 100 days for the inaugural cohort of the Colorado Science & Technology Policy Program (STPP) Fellowship. 

The Institute for Science & Policy launched the STPP Fellowship in 2025 as a bi-directional opportunity to provide legislators with direct access to scientists while simultaneously building the capacity of scientists and technologists to actively engage in policy discussions and public service. It's been a busy few months as the four Fellows, Samantha Lattof, Max O’Connor, Leena Vilonen, and Dhivahari Vivek, settled into their new roles. 

The first two weeks of the Fellowship were an immersive orientation into science and technology policy. The Fellows spent a week at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science learning about the history and current landscape of science and technology policy from Anna Quider of The Quider Group, how to conduct policy analysis from Debbie Stine at the Science and Technology Policy Academy, and how to communicate science to different audiences with Institute Executive Director, Kristan Uhlenbrock. Highlights included a workshop on deliberative issue analysis with Martin Carcasson, Director of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University, panel discussions with legislators and state agency policy directors, and opportunities to begin building connections with Colorado leaders and each other.  

Kate Long, Institute Policy & Engagement Specialist, moderates a panel of state agency policy directors (L-R: Dominique Gomez, Colorado Energy Office, Aaron Ray, Department of Natural Resources, Sarah Tuneberg, Office of Information Technology, and Mollie Bradlee, Department of Health and Human Services) for STPP Fellows and guests (L-R: George Sparks, President and CEO, DMNS, Josh Abram, Chief Fiscal Analyst, Legislative Council Staff, Max Neumeyer, Institute Deputy Director of Policy and Engagement). STPP Fellows Leena Vilonen and Max O'Connor are also pictured.

The Fellows’ host office at the Capitol, Legislative Council Staff (LCS), also provided a week-long orientation focused on the legislative process and functions of state government. Sessions covered fiscal components of policy, including the state budget, TABOR, and fiscal and demographic notes for bills, and training on the LCS research databases, and nonpartisanship, among other topics. Fellows also met with staff across the legislature.  

The orientation weeks concluded with a kickoff reception to celebrate the launch of the Colorado STPP and introduce the inaugural class of Fellows. Legislators, staff, and members of the local science and technology community joined the Institute and LCS to learn about the Fellowship and explore opportunities to collaborate and leverage the Fellows’ expertise to inform policymaking in the state.

Guests gather at the Denver Museum of Science for the STPP Reception in October 2026.    

After orientation, the Fellows began integrating themselves into LCS and preparing for the start of the legislative session in January. Some early projects included updating existing LCS issue briefs with more current scientific and technical information, fielding research requests from legislators to inform bill development, presenting their research to other nonpartisan staff, and meeting with legislators and committee staffers. While requests for information and research from legislators to LCS and the Fellows are confidential, some of their work, including interested persons’ memos and briefings are published on the General Assembly website. The monthly LCS email newsletter, LCS Chronicle, features new publications and updates from the entire staff, including the Fellows, and is a great way to keep up with what is happening in the legislature.    

In December, the Fellows participated in a professional development day with Frannie Matthews, Executive Producer at PBS12, focused on speaking with impact and applying design thinking methodologies when speaking to different audiences.

STPP Fellows smile for a selfie outside of the Colorado State Capitol on the first day of the 2026 Legislative Session. (L-R: Samantha Lattof, Max O'Connor, Dhivahari Vivek, Leena Vilonen)   

The Second Regular Session of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly convened on January 14, 2026, and will adjourn on May 13. The first few weeks of the Session have brought a faster pace for the Fellows as they work to support legislators and staff with timely research that will inform upcoming legislation, committee actions, and interested person requests. With a short legislative session, the Fellows will be very busy over the next few months as work ramps up and committee hearings, debates, and voting begins. 

At its core, the STPP Fellowship advances the Institute’s mission to elevate evidence-informed decision-making and strengthen the role of science in the policy-making process. In just 100 days, the Fellows have begun building trusted relationships and contributing meaningful scientific and technical expertise to Colorado’s legislative process.