A number of organizations in the United States focus on statistics education, and now you can add the U.S. Congress to the list. A bill introduced in the house earlier this year seeks to help support and improve stats education for both Pre-K through 12, as well as higher education. It is also the focus of this episode of stats and stories with guests Donna LaLonde and Steve Pierson.

Donna LaLonde is the Associate Executive Director of the American Statistical Association (ASA) where she works with talented colleagues to advance the vision and mission of the ASA. Prior to joining the ASA in 2015, she was a faculty member at Washburn University where she enjoyed teaching and learning with colleagues and students; she also served in various administrative positions including interim chair of the Education Department and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. At the ASA, she supports activities associated with presidential initiatives, accreditation, education, and professional development. She also is a cohost of the Practical Significance podcast which we appeared on in May.

Steve Pierson is the Director of Science Policy for the American Statistics Association. In his role, he works to raise the profile of statistics (the scientific discipline), government statistics, and statisticians nationally. He also advocates on behalf of ASA members and for more engagement of statistics/statisticians and the need to invest in our data infrastructure, as it powers the economy and improves our health and wellbeing.