![\"\"](\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1211\/Bina-and-Ricardo-800x600-364x274.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The University of Rhode Island\u2019s Metcalf Institute announced the appointment of Bina Venkataraman and Ricardo Sandoval-Palos to its Advisory Board<\/a>. These newest Board members bring deep experience in journalism and public policy. Venkataraman is the director of global policy initiatives at the Broad Institute<\/a> of MIT Harvard and author of a forthcoming book, \u201cThe Optimist\u2019s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age.\u201d She was formerly a journalist and senior advisor for Climate Change Innovation in the Obama White House. Sandoval-Palos is a veteran investigative journalist and author who has covered topics ranging from business, immigration, and organized crime to climate change.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m delighted to welcome two outstanding individuals with a wealth of relevant experience and expertise to Metcalf\u2019s Advisory Board,\u201d says Sunshine Menezes, Metcalf Institute executive director. \u201cBina and Ricardo join us at a time of unparalleled opportunity and demand for Metcalf Institute\u2019s contributions. As people around the world struggle to discern fact from opinion or spin, Metcalf Institute training is uniquely positioned to prepare journalists and researchers with the skills to foster informed public discussions about environmental issues.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBina and Ricardo will bring new ideas and connections to an enthusiastic and talented Advisory Board that is committed to engaging a wider range of trainees, funders, and partners with Metcalf Institute\u2019s work.\u201d Sandoval-Palos is an award-winning investigative journalist, editor and broadcaster. He has recently helped organizations like InsideClimate News<\/a>, 100Reporters<\/a> and the Fund for Investigative Journalism<\/a> revamp their journalism and fundraising operations.<\/p>\n At National Public Radio he helped manage the network\u2019s flagship Morning Edition as a supervising editor. Previously, he led global teams of investigative reporters for the Center for Public Integrity<\/a> and edited the science, health and environment reporting teams at the Sacramento Bee, where he served as a mentor for a 2007-2008 Metcalf Institute Environmental Reporting Fellow<\/a>. From 1997 to 2006, Ricardo was Latin America correspondent for the Dallas Morning News and Knight-Ridder Newspapers. He wrote extensively about migration, Mexico\u2019s drug cartels, and the rise and fall of Venezuela\u2019s Hugo Chavez. Prior to his work abroad, Ricardo covered agriculture, immigration and energy issues. He won national recognition for investigations into the savings and loan scandal, the deregulation of public utility companies, and profiteering in the unregulated business of international remittances. He is co-author of the biography The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement, published by Harcourt. Ricardo was born in Tijuana, Mexico and raised in San Diego and San Francisco. He earned a degree in journalism from Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA.<\/p>\n Venkataraman is a writer and policy expert who teaches in the program on science, technology, and society at MIT<\/a>. She serves as the Director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT. She is also a fellow at New America<\/a> and a former journalist for The New York Times <\/em>and The Boston Globe<\/em>. Bina previously served as Senior Advisor for Climate Change Innovation in the Obama White House, where she forged partnerships among communities, companies, and government to combat carbon emissions and prepare for climate disasters. She also advised the President\u2019s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in responding to the Ebola epidemic, promoting patient access to cancer therapies, and reforming public school science education. Bina is an alumna of Brown University, Harvard\u2019s Kennedy School, and Metcalf Institute\u2019s 2008-2009 Environmental Reporting Fellowship. She serves on the Brown University President\u2019s Leadership Council and the advisory council of the Institute at Brown for the Environment and Society. Her first book, The Optimist\u2019s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age,<\/em> will be published by Riverhead in August 2019.<\/p>\n