Our own Assistant Professor Anna Nelson, along with researchers from various New Mexico Labs, math camps (Anita Chou Executive Director of Campersand), and former UNM undergraduate/HS dual credit math students (Tommy Denny-Martins and Isa Chou now respectively at Purdue University and Williams College) participated in MathSciOnTheHill1 on January 8, 2026, joining close to 300 mathematicians from across 47 states for a day of advocacy on Capitol Hill. As a group they reported the following
"Our delegation met with staffers from the offices of Senator Ben Ray Luján, Senator Martin Heinrich, and Representative Melanie Stansbury to discuss the critical importance of continued federal investment in mathematical sciences. We expressed our gratitude for New Mexico’s congressional delegation’s strong support in appropriating funds for National Science Foundation research programs.
During these meetings, we emphasized the need for sustained and increased funding not only for research but also for mathematics education at all levels, including graduate, undergraduate, and K-12 initiatives. Our conversations were encouraging—New Mexico’s representatives demonstrated genuine enthusiasm for supporting science research and wanted to understand the real impacts of funding decisions on our programs.
We shared our experiences with last year’s funding cuts and commended UNM’s leadership for their excellent work in restoring affected programs. The dialogue was collaborative and productive, and we agreed to maintain ongoing communication with these offices.
The day concluded with an unexpected honor: Representative Stansbury herself joined us after the staffers’ meetings for an extended conversation [see photo]. She then graciously invited our group as her guests to the House gallery, where we witnessed the passage of H.R. 69382 by an overwhelming bipartisan majority—a thrilling reminder of how effective bipartisan collaboration can be.
This experience reinforced the importance of scientists and mathematicians engaging directly with policymakers. We returned to New Mexico energized and committed to continuing this vital dialogue about the future of mathematical sciences funding and education."
From left to right: Anita Chou, Representative Melanie Stansbury, Jonas Actor (SNL), Anna Nelson (UNM), Nick Allgood (AFRL), Isa Chou, Tommy Denny-Martins.
On a more personnal note Anna added "We were very excited to go to the Hill as individuals to advocate for the mathematical sciences broadly to both our senators and to Rep. Stansbury. It was incredibly exciting to be in the House chambers when that was passed!", and Anita said: "Anna was our leader and spoke very eloquently (especially in ensuring UNM was thanked)."
We are very proud of Anna's leadership and the groups advocacy for the mathematical sciences (including Statistics) in The Hill!!
On Jan 27, 2026, UNM News echoed this story.
1MathSciOnTheHill refers to an annual event where the mathematical sciences community visits Capitol Hill (Washington D.C.) for meetings with congressional members to advocate for the importance of mathematics in discovery, national competitiveness, and security, highlighting its strategic role and impact. The American Mathematical Society (AMS) and other groups organize these advocacy efforts, often around the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM). This year JMM was in Washington D.C. and the group was participating in the meeting as well.
2The H.R. 6938 bill was the appropriations bill that included the FY26 budget for NSF, which will be funded almost at the same level as the previous fiscal year.
Additional Photos
