Below is a transcript of my speech for March for Science Puerto Rico, held April 22, 2017.

Good morning! Are we ready to march?

My name is Mónica Feliú-Mójer, deputy director of CienciaPR. CienciaPR uses the collective knowledge of the world's largest network of Puerto Rican scientists to share science in rice and beans, to improve science education in Puerto Rico and to forge the next generations of Puerto Rican scientific leaders.

Under the Caribbean sun and embraced a cool sea breeze, on April 22, 2017, over 600 scientists, students and citizens marched for science. It was a historic day for Puerto Rican science. Young and old flooded the streets of historic Old San Juan to celebrate #cienciaboricua, to demand policies based on evidence and informed by the local scientific community. We joined 600+ cities around the world to #MarchForScience.

SAN JUAN, PR — This coming Earth Day, Saturday April 22, Puerto Rico will join over 514 concurrent events around the world with March for Science–Puerto Rico. The event will begin at 11:00 a.m., at Plaza Colon in Old San Juan. From there the March will head towards the Capitol and end in the Pabellón de la Paz in Luis Muñoz Rivera Park, where it will join the Para la Naturaleza Fair, where the public can enjoy exhibitions and scientific activities for all ages.

During the first Conversations with Scientists of the 2017 Yale Ciencia Academy (YCA), scientists in research careers talked about their experiences applying for and getting a postdoc, as well as shared practical advice and strategies that helped them during the process.

The panelists were: Dr. Reyna Martinez de Luna, Research Scientist at SUNY Upstate Medical University; Dr. Janitza Montalvo-Ortiz, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Yale University; and Dr. Manuel Navedo, Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis.

Watch the conversation and read a summary put together by 2017 YCA Fellows Victor Aguilar, Simara Laboy and Aileen García-Vargas below.

During this conversation, panelists with experience obtaining grants, fellowships and other funds shared practical strategies to get funding from diverse sources (federal and state government, foundations, private industry, etc.), particularly graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. Panelists also provided general advice for successful fundraising in or outside academia, for example, making sure you have an organized, solid narrative; reading the call for proposals carefully; seeking feedback from mentors and peers; anticipating reviewer questions, etc.