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Maya Ranganath

@mayaranganath.bsky.social

59 followers 90 following 2 posts

Director of Policy and Inclusion at the Center for Effective Global Action, UC Berkeley. Fletcher School and McGill University grad. Views my own!

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Center for Effective Global Action @cega-uc.bsky.social · Aug 29

🌍 In an era of uncertainty in global development, the 2025 Africa Evidence Summit marked a critical step towards reimagining the future of foreign aid. In a new #CEGABlog, @mayaranganath.bsky.social reflects on key takeaways from the event.

📖 Read here: go.cega.org/AES25blog

Africa Evidence Summit: Hope and Community Amid a Struggling Development Sector

Director of Policy and Inclusion Maya Ranganath reflects on this year’s Africa Evidence Summit, held in Nairobi from June 23rd to 25th.

go.cega.org

Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Center for Effective Global Action @cega-uc.bsky.social · Jun 24

African scholars are eager for more academic and professional opportunities, including those organized by our Summit sponsor @aphrc.bsky.social.

@mayaranganath.bsky.social mentions that CEGA is cataloguing capacity strengthening programs for and with African scholars in the CIDR CO-Hub. #AES2025

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Center for Effective Global Action @cega-uc.bsky.social · Jun 24

What's the best way to include African scholars in development research? #AES2025

@mayaranganath.bsky.social reports results from CEGA's CIDR survey, finding 90% of African-educated scholars state the cost of education is prohibitive to getting a PhD + African govs struggle to prioritize research.

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Center for Effective Global Action @cega-uc.bsky.social · Jun 23

In Day 1's final session, panelists reflect on bridging research + policymaking in West Africa.

CEGA's @mayaranganath.bsky.social‬ shares that Development Impact West Africa (DIWA) is unique bc of its 3-way partnership between policymakers, academics from Ghana, and academics from the US. #AES2025

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Maya Ranganath @mayaranganath.bsky.social · Jun 23

The 13th Africa Evidence Summit kicks off with @deankarlan.bsky.social, Catherine Kyobutungi ( @aphrc.bsky.social) and Emilie Oftedal (@norad.no) discussing how the #globaldev sector can respond to the recent cuts to foreign aid. #AES2025 @cega-uc.bsky.social

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · Mar 10

This is deeply illegal, violating appropriations law, authorizations law, and the Impoundment Control Act.

It is also deeply immoral, condemning people to die.

Marco Rubio v @marcorubio
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After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.
The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.
In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department.
Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform.

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Bryan Mendez @doctorstarlight.bsky.social · Mar 8

I was honored to speak at the Stand Up for Science March in Berkeley yesterday. The text of my remarks is in the photos. I hope this momentum continues.

Let there be light.

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Dr. Rebecca (Becca) Tarvin @rdtarvin.bsky.social · Mar 7

Huge crowd at stand up for science rally at UC Berkeley today #SUFS 🧪🌎🌿

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

airplane ian (he/him) @airplaneian.com · Mar 7

big shoutout to all the standup for science events today, esp bay area folks... y'all really showed up

first pic is crowd @ SF, second is at Berkeley

Screenshot of aerial video of demonstrators at the San Francisco Civic Center Plaza showing hundreds or thousands of people in the plaza

similar aerial vantage point of Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley, again hundreds of demonstrators are in the center of the plaza

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Jonah Busch @jonahbusch.bsky.social · Mar 7

Proud to #standupforscience at Berkeley!

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Jonah Busch @jonahbusch.bsky.social · Mar 7

“Truth wont bend, nor will we!”
—speaker at #standupforscience Berkeley

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Reposted by Maya Ranganath

Jonah Busch @jonahbusch.bsky.social · Mar 7

Thousands march at UC Berkeley today to #standupforscience

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Maya Ranganath @mayaranganath.bsky.social · Mar 8

So proud to have co-organized this rally, w/ inspiring + brave speeches from @tedmiguel.bsky.social, @fdoperez.bsky.social, @jenniferdoudna.bsky.social+20 more and 1000+ attendees! We need to keep fighting against the depraved stream of chaos flooding this country and damaging the rest of the world.

Fernando Pérez @fernandoperez.org · Mar 7

That felt good! Great speeches from the Berkeley community, ranging from Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna to undergraduate student leaders.

Amazing energy in defense of science, and it felt good to do something positive, even if it's just a small step.

Below is the text I read. #StandUpForScience !

Stand Up for Science @ Berkeley
Fernando Pérez. Mar 07, 2025.
Hello, I am Fernando! I was trained as a physicist, and today I am a professor in Statistics; I also direct the Berkeley Institute for Data Science and co-direct the Data Science and Environment Center, that I both co-founded. It’s an honor to be here today, but I am very sad.

I am sad, because science is under attack. And science is deeply tied to our humanity, so our very humanity is under attack. Science is driven by curiosity, by our need to make sense of the world around us, and it gives both power and meaning to our existence. Historically, the US has been the most fertile ground for this enterprise that also brings immense social and economic value. Now we must fight to save it.

I am an immigrant: I was born and raised in Colombia, a country ravaged in the 80s and 90s by drug and guerilla violence. I wanted to study physics, and I had the option to go to Europe or the US. Having lived in both, I chose to come here. Why? Because it was:
A more open and welcoming society, where immigrants from all nations and cultures had the opportunity to build new futures.
A country whose dedication to first-rate science had never wavered, regardless of changes in politics or administrations.

Thanks to US scientific institutions, I was able to build a weird career: I published papers, but I also built stuff. In 2001 I started writing open source software for science–something called IPython that later, with work from many others, became Project Jupyter. Many of you at Berkeley have used Jupyter and scientific tools I helped build. Many companies also have products based on these tools.

But this career, driven by curiosity and producing basic science and tools that benefit millions for free, would be impossible now. I am grateful to the US for what it helped me do, but I am sad that much of the country now wants to destroy this jewel.

Why do they attack science? Fascists can’t tolerate science because it is independent. Because while imperfect, scientists seek answers where the evidence will lead them regardless of what politicians want. Fascists demand obedience and control, and science strives to follow nature where it leads.

To defend our humanity, to defend this incredible endeavor that belongs to all, we must stand up and defend its core values of curiosity, exploration and independence.

This also means defending the humanity of all. Science needs all to succeed, regardless of gender, ethnicity or other identity. In particular, we as scientists must show more courage and integrity than our politicians, and stand up for the rights of trans persons to exist, to live in peace and to simply be themselves. Fascists have chosen to target trans persons precisely because they are a small, vulnerable minority. They are betting the rest of society will abandon them. We can’t–if we abandon the rights of trans people to live with dignity, we abandon the very humanity at the heart of science, and we will forfeit any moral standing to defend the rights of other groups.

That’s what the fascists want: to crack the moral foundation we stand on, so that we can’t fight back with the power of science, the power that lets us edit genomes or take images of black holes.

So let’s fight back! With science, but with humanity too, by protecting science as open for all.

Thank you!

Large group of people sitting and standing in an open plaza, with building with columns in the background. A sign that says "Science" and has some smaller text is visible in the front.

Group marching on the UC Berkeley campus, below Sather Gate.

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