Seema Schappelle

Dr. Seema Schappelle’s career has often intersected the boundaries of science and policy. Currently, Dr. Schappelle serves as a branch chief in the Existing Chemicals Risk Assessment Division (ECRAD) in USEPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). ECRAD is focused on developing risk evaluations for chemicals undergoing safety reviews under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Prior, Seema served as the director of the Exposure Assessment Coordination and Policy Division (EACPD) where she oversaw the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), which utilizes high throughput screening techniques and computational approaches for efficient prioritization of chemicals and pesticides to assess their potential risks to human health and wildlife using alternative test methods. Seema has served as a policy advisor on legislative issues surrounding the environment, energy and agriculture in the U.S. House of Representatives for Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04) during the 113th Congress. More recently, she joined foreign service staff in the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi and advised the Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs on environmental and agriculture-related issues impacting India’s population and USG interests.

Dr. Schappelle received her B.S. in Natural Resources Management from the University of Maryland at College Park. She then attended Johns Hopkins University and earned an M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy, and later earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy from George Mason University with a research focus in environmental risk communication techniques.