Hi Reddit! I am Ray Garant and am the director of public policy at the American Chemical Society. Ask me anything about environmental and regulatory policy, advancing innovation, science education, and/or energy/climate policy. I manage policy development and messaging for the ACS with a portfolio that spans scientific innovation, jobs, education, and science policy, as well as the international, environmental and regulatory arenas. I also oversee the ACS Science & the Congress Project (www.acs.org/scicon), a well-respected program of congressional staff briefings and that improve decision makers’ understandings of the role that science can and should play in public policy. From 1993 - 1994 I was a staffer in the office of (now former) Representative Phil Sharp (D-IN). While on the Hill, I followed environmental, judicial and healthcare issues. I studied chemistry in university, getting a B.S. at U Mass-Dartmouth and an M.S. at Iowa State University; at ISU I managed a project to communicate science to the public. I also did research at the Ames Laboratory of the Department of Energy and at the U.S. Naval Underwater Systems Center. I’ll be back at 11 am EST (8 am PST, 4 pm UTC) to answer your questions, ask me anything!