S2E7: The value of PhD soft skills with Dr. Rebecca Shaw, Chief Scientist at the World Wildlife Fund

Roots to STEM Podcast

In this week’s episode, we’re hearing from Dr. Rebecca Shaw, the Chief Scientist at the World Wildlife Fund. Rebecca received her MA in environmental policy and her PhD in energy and resources from UC Berkeley. After finishing her PhD, Rebecca did a postdoc at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford, and then worked at the Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund before moving to her current role at WWF.

Some of the things we talk about in this episode include:

• Rebecca’s decision to turn down a faculty position and instead pursue a career that enabled her to combine her interests in climate change science and non-profit work
• How PhD training equips you to be successful at all sorts of other careers
• What gives Rebecca hope when it comes to climate change (including the wonderful poem Earthrise by Amanda Gorman)
• Rebecca’s advice for women in science
• Why staying positive has been a key part of what has made Rebecca successful, and how she takes care of herself to be able to stay positive
• The importance of constantly improving both your hard skills and your soft skills

Get in touch with Rebecca:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Get in touch with Steph:

• Twitter

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• Website: rootstostempodcast.podbean.com