Allison Davis is the Executive Director of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee and Lead Foreign Affairs Analyst in the Cultural Heritage Center at the U.S. Department of State. She leads a team of experts working to reduce looting and trafficking of cultural property from around the world, while developing U.S. programs and policies to preserve cultural heritage in collaboration with Latin America countries and communities. Before joining the Department in 2014, Allison carried out archaeological research in Peru for 15 years. She also has excavated in Italy and the United States. Allison taught archaeology and anthropology at Oberlin College and Brown University. She is an alum of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in Peru. She holds an A.B. cum laude in anthropology from Dartmouth College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan. Allison grew up in Sullivan, Missouri, and is currently a
resident of Kirkwood, Missouri.
Fellow Cohort Year: 2023-24
Science Note topic areas: education funding, curriculum, school policies, higher education, teacher pay and retention, career readiness, economic development, taxes
Isabel earned her B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from UC Davis in 2015. She then worked as a virologist at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS) performing disease surveillance and outbreak response for livestock and poultry animals in the state of California. She chose to pursue her PhD in Microbiology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where she used genomics to understand the fundamentals of bacterial survival in an effort to identify targets for the development of new antibiotics. During graduate school, Isabel became involved with the National Science Policy Network (NSPN) where she was a Science Diplomacy Fellow, Chair of Grants and Finance, and National Chair-Elect, and where she currently serves as National Chair. Isabel thinks science is for everyone, and her experiences working through disease outbreaks and in science diplomacy cemented her belief in the importance of science communication and scientific expertise in policymaking. At MOST, she is keen to support the legislature and broader community to help create a bright future for Missouri and its people.
Fellow Cohort Year: 2025-2026
Science Note topic areas: health and mental health, scope of practice, Medicare and Medicaid, health insurance, healthcare, substance use, etc.
Cohort Year: 2025-2026
Science Note topic areas: energy technology, agriculture, land use, livestock, power infrastructure, energy pricing, etc.
Fellow Cohort Year: 2025-2026
Science Note topic areas: families, the criminal justice system, veterans, the disabled, firefighters, firearms
Dr. Villegas obtained her PhD in Cellular Biology at the University of Georgia studying malaria. She holds a B.S. in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Mathematical Modeling from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. She has served as an inaugural member of the UGA Human Relations Commission, and worked with the U.S. Government Accountability Office supporting federal evaluations of transportation, mail, and federal property. She is keen to apply her experiences to support evidence-based policymaking in Missouri.
