Ann has a Master’s degree in marine environmental science for which she studied a class of chemicals that actually become more toxic as they degrade. While a Ph.D. student in marine sciences at Stony Brook University, she became a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant Fellow for the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard. She thought she would return to school once her fellowship ended, but she spent most of the next seven years working on civil space matters under Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), chair of the science and space subcommittee. Ann was the top aide handling science issues for Democrats on the panel, which deals with oversight of agencies such as NASA and the National Science Foundation and issues such as nanotechnology. Noted as one of Role Call’s “Technology: Five Hill Aides to Know,” she was involved in two major pieces of science legislation in 2010, serving as the point person for Senate Democrats on a 2010 NASA reauthorization and taking the lead for committee Democrats on a reauthorization of federal science and technology research and education programs. While she’s referred to as either a reformed or fallen scientist depending on whom you ask, she tends to think of herself as a science policy adviser. “The Members have to decide, you know, where they want to be on the spectrum,” she said. But she lays it out, saying, “Here’s the range of issues, here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t know.” A Minnesota native, Ann studied biology as an undergraduate at Gustavus Adolphus College. After graduating, she moved to Maine to work for a program teaching ecology and oceanography to students. She also previously worked as a program coordinator for the Massachusetts Environmental Trust. There are corollaries between science and policy, she said, such as how problems are approached and delving into the mechanics of issues. “You’re looking at how things work and getting below the surface and ... there’s always more than meets the eye.” In 2014 she stepped down as the top Democratic staffer to take a government affairs position with Lockheed Martin, where she worked as Lockheed’s director of NASA programs.