Gill named finalist for Press Herald’s ‘Mainers of the Year’

Jacquelyn Gill, an assistant professor of terrestrial paleoecology at the University of Maine, was named one of six finalists for Portland Press Herald’s “2017 Mainers of the Year.” According to the Press Herald, the finalists made impacts this year that reverberated outside the state. Gill got the idea for the March for Science as she watched millions participate in women’s marches across the country the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president, according to the article. She tweeted that scientists also should defend the issues and causes important to them, the article states. Gill’s tweets turned into a conversation, a website and, ultimately, hundreds of thousands of people at more than 600 demonstrations worldwide on Earth Day. “I was really floored by how much public support for science emerged out of the march,” she said. Gill says her role now is to be an advocate for science for everyone. Today, she continues her teaching and research at the UMaine Climate Change Institute, co-hosting the podcast “Warm Regards” and advocating for an open, transparent, diverse and publicly supported scientific community, the Press Herald reported. “I’ve felt catapulted by this national energy around supporting science,” Gill said. “I feel called to use my voice. There are many voices out there, I’m just one of them and I’m grateful that I have a platform where I can get this message out.”