Employee Spotlight: Bailey Stearns

Meet former ORAU employee Bailey Stearns. For the past four years, Bailey was an EPA National Student Services Contract (NSSC) contractor working in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) as a Science Communications Outreach Associate. She worked closely with her EPA Team to develop and implement communication strategies for research initiatives, planning outreach activities around national awareness campaigns (American Hearth Month and Earth Day), and engaging with EPA’s Public Health Association partners. Additionally, Bailey’s role involved exhibiting at scientific conferences throughout the country.

“During my time in the NSSC program, I made many great friends and learned a tremendous amount from my mentors and colleagues,” Stearns said. “The NSSCs at EPA have created a community together, and being part of that was amazing.”

Recently, Bailey was hired by EPA as a Program Analyst on the ORD Communications team. In this position, she works with the Communications Director and Chief of Staff to support the organization’s communication and stakeholder engagement efforts, both internally and externally. She looks forward to continuing to work alongside the colleagues she met during her time as an EPA NSSC contractor.

Background

Bailey received a B.A. in Environmental Studies from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her M.S. in Coastal and Ocean Policy from The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She has volunteered at several organizations including the Currituck County Planning Department, the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. Outside of the lab, she enjoys indoor rock climbing and playing video games. Bailey also spends a lot of time with her family, her partner, and her dog Ernie.

The EPA NSSC is a program managed by ORAU and contractors working under the NSSC become long-term temporary employees of ORAU while contributing to the EPA mission. For more details, www.orau.org/epa.