David Goldston

David Goldston was the Director of the MIT Washington Office from May 2017 through April 2026. In that role, he directed MIT’s federal relations and worked with faculty and students who wanted to help shape federal policy. For the eight years prior to joining MIT, Goldston was the Director of Government Affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading environmental group, where he helped shape NRDC’s federal political strategy, policies and communications. He came to NRDC after spending more than 20 years on Capitol Hill in Washington, working primarily on science policy and environmental policy. He was Chief of Staff of the House Committee on Science from 2001 through 2006. After retiring from government service, Goldston taught at Princeton University’ School of Public and International Affairs and at the Harvard University Center for the Environment. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. From 2007 through November 2009, he wrote a monthly column for Nature on science policy titled “Party of One.” Goldston also was the project director for the Bipartisan Policy Center report “Improving the Use of Science in Regulatory Policy.” He authored a chapter in The Science of Science Policy: A Handbook (Stanford University Press, 2011). He is a member of the Advisory Committee for the National Academy of Sciences’ Climate Crossroads initiative and has served on numerous other committees of the National Academies. He holds a B.A. (1978) from Cornell University and completed the course work for a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Pennsylvania.