What role should engineers play in our society?  As Americans, we all have a role to play in building and leading our nation.  Engineers, perhaps, have a more important role than most.  Every year, our elected leaders deal with dozens of policy questions which require knowledge of engineering principles to properly understand.  Our country is better off when engineers step up to provide the knowledge politicians need to make informed decisions.  But how do you do that?  How can individual engineers best use their skills to improve public policy.

Since 2003, IEEE-USA’s Senior Legislative Representative for Grassroots Activities, Russ Harrison, has been discussing our political system with IEEE members across the country.  At over 160 local IEEE meetings, Russ has explained public policy issues with IEEE members and suggested ways engineers can respond to public debates.  His entertaining and interactive talks cover alternative energy, intellectual property, workforce issues, the federal budget and anything else your local IEEE group is worried about.

Drawing on over 15 years of experience managing grassroots efforts for America’s steel and recycling industries, as well as IEEE-USA, Russ can lead your group in a lively and topical discussion of current politics, policies and civil participation. 

Specific topics can be crafted to meet the unique concerns of your local group.  Past talks have included:

Federal Grants:  How the federal R&D budget process works and how engineers can get a piece of it.

Election Updates:  Holding a section meeting right after an election?  Russ can analyze what the results mean to your local members, as well as the engineering community nationally.

Policy Overviews:  Discuss what problems Congress is debating right now in Washington, DC.  These talks will give your members a better understanding of what Congress is doing to and for engineers, and why they are doing it.

In-Depth Policy Discussions:  Is there a specific issue that is uniquely important to your members?  Russ can focus on that one issue, discuss what Congress thinks about it and how it will impact our profession.  Past issues have included immigration, alternative energy, space exploration and intellectual property reform, among many others.

Each talk covers current public policies, but then goes further.  Engineers don’t just need to know what Congress is doing.  They also need to know how to affect Congress’ decisions.  Drawing on the best current research and extensive personal experience, Russ will discuss how to best communicate with Congress and offer advice on interacting with elected officials.  (I’ll give you a hint.  It isn’t as difficult or mysterious as it sounds.)

Mr. Harrison has a MS in Public Policy for the University of Maryland and a BA in Political Science with minors in History and Communications from Allegheny College. 

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02/12