NCD Chairman Participates in White House STEM Roundtable

WASHINGTON – NCD Chairman Andrès Gallegos recently participated in a White House roundtable with leaders and advocates from disability-focused organizations sharing expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). 

The Time is Now: Advancing Equity in Science & Technology is a five-part series of roundtables hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of Public Engagement.  

During the roundtable, Chairman Gallegos stressed the necessity of ensuring that people with disabilities are able to visualize a pathway to a career in STEM by seeing people like them at the highest levels within those organizations; be it laboratories, universities, engineering firms, or federal agencies.  

He further stressed the necessity of the National Institute of Health, the National Academies of Science and Technology, the Health Resources Services Administration and others funding STEM research engage in a deliberate effort to solicit grant proposals from researchers with disabilities and require disclosure of members of the research team identifying as persons with disabilities.  

He also recommended those institutions capture and publish data identifying the number of principal investigators with a disability who submitted proposals and were awarded funding; the number of proposals submitted identifying people with disabilities on the research team awarded funding; and the number and amount of funding for research on matters or issues relating to disability – data not now being collected. 

The roundtable – first in the series designed to foster candid and robust conversation with researchers, thought leaders, and advocates on themes related to STEM equity – focused on gathering feedback to assist OSTP in assuring a national STEM ecosystem that is preeminent, equitable, and inclusive. 

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