Marlit Hayslett

Highest Degrees: MS, Public Policy (Georgia Tech); MS, International Affairs (Georgia Tech)

Other Degree: BS, International Affairs (Georgia Tech)

Current Title:  Director, Office of Policy Analysis and Research, Georgia Tech Research Institute

Career opportunities in Public Policy are not restricted to government and professorial appointments in academia.  Ms. Marlit Hayslett, an SPP alumna, is the Founding Director of the Office of Policy Analysis and Research (OPAR) within the Georgia Tech Research Institute.  

The mission of OPAR is to promote critical dialogue between technologists and policymakers on issues related to science and technology (S&T) including STEM education and sustainability.  In her current role, Director Hayslett serves as a liaison for state government relations and directs OPAR’s ambitious applied policy research agenda. 

Since 2006, Director Hayslett has supported the Georgia General Assembly’s House and Senate Science and Technology Committees.  She has organized more than twenty legislative committee hearings with forty expert witnesses.  She has collaborated with the state technology business community to introduce legislation calling for a task force to explore the role of a strategic plan for S&T in Georgia. 

Under her leadership, the OPAR team has developed a portfolio of research projects that inventory and map state-level S&T public policy.  Hayslett has co-authored and/or edited more than 100 documents, including policy bulletins, research reports, and technical publications.  Relevant publications include the annual “Science and Technology Policy Review: A State-Level Legislative Analysis (2008, 2009, 2010); S&T Inventory At-A-Glance (2009); and The Science and Technology (S&T) Legislative Landscape:  Mapping State-Level S&T Legislation in the US. (2009).  

Director Hayslett serves on the Government Relations Task Force and the Business and Technology Alliance, both of the Technology Association of Georgia, and the Public and Government Affairs Committee of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.

As an SPP alumna, she welcomes the opportunity to network with students and other alumni. Learn how you to can create a wonderful career in Public Policy within academia. Contact Director Marlit Hayslett today.