Short Bio:
Mitaali Taskar is a Research Project Assistant (Science Communicator) within Rutgers University’s Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. She specializes in Science Communication and Education Outreach and supports the implementation of several outreach initiatives that engage a variety of audiences. These initiatives entail: (1) assisting a university school initiative and national center that supports academic communities in building their skills and capacity in communicating research impact (Rutgers University’s School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) Office of Research’s “Charting Your Research Pathway” workshop series and the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS), respectively), (2) supporting post-secondary educators (e.g., community college, state universities/colleges, research institutions) as they create student-friendly online learning tools on analyzing real-time ocean data (Ocean Data Labs), and (3) connecting K-12 educators and students with Rutgers research through in-person and virtual events, both on-campus and off-campus (Rutgers 4-H STEM Ambassadors program, Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Video Teleconferences (VTCs), GEAR UP at Rutgers, Building a Climate Ready NJ’s educator program).
Her support includes, but is not limited to, event logistics; event facilitation; written and visual content for blogs, social media, and established publications; youth development; and in-person science outreach demonstrations.
She holds a M.S. in Science Communication from Laurentian University (supported by Science North) and a B.Sc. in Biology from McGill University. Her work is informed by her previous experiences in both informal and formal education spaces—as a science outreach volunteer for Let’s Talk Science and as an alternative U.S. high school science and math educator fellow (through Public Allies), respectively.