Washington, DC, August 22^nd, 2016 – In tandem with the first ever White House Arctic Science Ministerial scheduled to take place September 28^th, several leading nonprofit organizations will host an expert forum to discuss how Arctic research can be used to empower Northerners who are living on the front lines of climate change, as well as ways to encourage young people to pursue careers in the ever increasingly important fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Organized by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS), Arctic Portal, Woods Hole Research Center, Arctic 21, the PoLAR Partnership, the EDU-ARCTIC consortium and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership the forum will take place in Washington, D.C. on the morning of September 27^th at the ARCUS Washington DC office (1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC).

Following an opening keynote from Mark Brzezinski, Executive Director of the U.S. Government's Arctic Executive Steering Committee, the event will feature two panel discussions with experts on education, scientific research and leaders from Arctic communities.

Max Holmes, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, will lead the first panel discussion of the morning focusing on using Arctic science as a vehicle to encourage young people to become interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The panel will feature:

• Greenland's Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Church, NiviOlsen
• Chair of the US Arctic Research Commission Fran Ulmer
• An inspiring teacher from California who has been involved with the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States' Polar TREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) program John Wood

The second half of the event will feature a panel focusing on empowering Arctic communities through research and education, led by veteran reporter on Arctic climate change issues Suzanne Goldenberg. The panel will feature:

• Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Okalik Eegeesiak
• Chair of the Arctic Economic Council (AEC) and Vice-President of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Tara Sweeney
• Head of the Arctic and Environment Unit at the Sámi Council Gunn-Britt Retter
• Curator of the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Igor Krupnik

Attendees of the event will include members of the delegations of the Arctic Council member states and Arctic Council observer states who are attending the White House Arctic Science Ministerial, as well as organizations involved in Arctic research, education, outreach and communication. 
The event will begin promptly at 9:00 am EDT (UTC-4) and last until approximately 11:30 am.

Journalists will also be given an opportunity to speak to many of the panelists. Journalists interested in scheduling an interview with one of the panelists are asked to contact the event communications team in advance so that a request can be forwarded to the panelist.

The entire event will be live streamed via the ARCUS website.

For questions and press inquiries, please contact:

David McGlinchey (Woods Hole Research Center) Tel: +1 (508) 444-1509 (North America)