Mairin Deith

You may know Mairin Deith as @sapiensimulator on Twitter from the awesome infographic she created for us outlining where we are at with the implementation of the Fundamental Science Review recommendations. Here’s your chance to get to know her a little better! Mairin started her career in biology at age 9 as a free-range snail farmer, and has since scaled up to working on a PhD in the Department of Zoology at UBC where she studies how animals are most impacted by hunting and how different harvest strategies affect wildlife and the people that depend on them for food. Mairin has a full deck of hobbies, including biking, knitting, reading and watching science fiction, tinkering with electronics and software, and last, but not least, diving deep into the magical land of YouTube to take in all the best tutorials, documentaries, and in-depth-analyses of Star Trek. When asked what she would tell someone who is considering supporting E4D Mairin said: “Do it! Organizations like E4D can only grow through donations of time or money, and the more people that hear about their work and its impact on Canadian policy the more their initiatives will stick. If you’re like me and don’t have a lot of spare money to give to organizations you’re passionate about, offering up skills and time is a great way to get involved and push the organization forward.”

Aaron Maxwell

Aaron Maxwell is a Data Scientist working from Scarborough, Ontario for a Montreal-based startup. While his focus is on computer programming and building models, he also gets to dabble in things like business development. When he isn’t busy with programming and volunteering, you’ll find Aaron hanging out with his wife, family, and friends discovering new games at his favorite board game cafe or playing softball. Back in the day you may have even spotted him competing in ballroom dance competitions! Aaron first got involved with E4D back in 2014 when he was finishing up his PhD and looking to get more involved with science policy. We asked him what he wished other people knew about E4D, here’s what he told us: “I wish people knew how many policy decisions at all levels of government are made without adequate assessments of “evidence”. A big part of E4D’s mission is driving awareness of the kinds of evidence – whether it be scientific data, surveys, or indigenous knowledge – that are available on a whole host of topics. I also want more people to be open to using evidence from all of these sources, and understand where their biases against these sources come from.” Aaron also told us that a great part about volunteering with E4D is that it is a good way to get involved with the political process without working in public service or joining a political party and he stresses the value of folks becoming vocal advocates for issues they care about, we couldn’t agree more!