Darlene Cavalier, Founder of Science Cheerleaders and SciStarter and coFounder of ECAST
Cavalier, 50, has become a leading national booster for the idea that the general public can and should be a part of the scientific process by collecting data for researchers around the world. It’s a fitting role for the former college cheerleader who launched Science Cheerleaders, a nonprofit organization consisting of current and former NFL, NBA and college cheerleaders pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
Aside from being a valuable social distancing activity when much scientific fieldwork is disrupted, enlisting more people to collect data and observations about our changing climate is more important than ever.
Darlene Cavalier is a professor of practice at Arizona State University's School for the Future of Innovation in Society and a Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at ASU. Professor Cavalier is the founder of SciStarter (a popular citizen science portal and research platform connecting millions of people to real science they can do), founder of Science Cheerleaders (a non profit organization comprised of current and former NFL, NBA and college cheerleaders pursuing STEM careers), cofounder of ECAST: Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology and cofounder of ScienceNearMe.org. She is a founding board member of the Citizen Science Association, an advisor and Fellow at National Geographic, a member of the EPA's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, appointed to the National Academy of Sciences "Designing Citizen Science to Support Science Learning" committee and named cochair of America 250's Innovation, Science, and Entrepreneurism Advisory Council. She is the co-editor of "The Rightful Place of Science: Citizen Science," author of "The Science of Cheerleading," and co-author of the Field Guide to Citizen Science (Timber Press). Recently, ASU President Michael Crow awarded Cavalier and her team the prestigious Medal for Social Embeddedness.
