Danforth Center Welcomes Second Cohort of Pivot to Plants Fellows
Making a career change isn’t easy, and professions that require technical experience can make it especially daunting to take that step. Our Pivot to Plants Fellowship is a one-year paid training program for people who are interested in pivoting to a career in plant science, imaging, data science, or related STEM fields, but have limited research experience. With support from the National Science Foundation, the immersive workforce development experience hosted by the Danforth Plant Science Center allows professionals to transition their careers into one shaped by research experience.
Pivot to Plants invites adults with an associate’s degree or higher to develop skills in emerging technologies, providing a path to a new career trajectory in the sciences. Participants are able to upskill in emerging technologies and methods in plant science including remote sensing, image analysis, machine learning and AI, enabling them to pursue a career in technology fields. Fellows are given the opportunity to work closely with mentors, network, and gain connections and professional development in St. Louis’ lively agtech ecosystem. At the end of the program, fellows will present their research to an audience of peers and potential employers, displaying the skills they’ve gained.
We are excited to introduce our 2026 Pivot to Plants Fellows.
Liz Kelter
Liz holds a B.S. in integrative biology but felt adrift after graduation. She moved to St. Louis looking for her first career opportunity, but nothing felt right. Liz had been taking horticulture classes at the St. Louis Community College for two years to feed her growing interest in plants and gardening, but she wanted to focus more on research. Then she saw an ad for the program on LinkedIn and felt as though it would be the perfect fit. Her desire to find a career that aligned with her passion for plants and interest in research inspired her to apply. Biology is her passion, and she’s excited to be back in the research world meeting scientists and learning new protocols and data science programs in the Nusinow and Wang Labs.
Maya O’Callaghan
Maya’s background revolves around science. She earned her B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Before joining the Pivot to Plants program, she worked as a horticulture technician at Babylon Micro-Farms, a hydroponic agtech startup in Richmond, Virginia, where she contributed to plant care and developed social media content to support business optimization. She found the Pivot to Plants program a great opportunity to gain an advantage in the current job market, build experience in research, help her determine whether she wants to pursue lab research in her future career, and develop more skills pertaining to data science, data analytics, and more. During her fellowship, Maya will contribute to research in the Gehan Lab that investigates plant responses to abiotic stress and develops computation approaches to plant phenotyping.
Kristiana Thong
Kristiana discovered an appreciation for plants after witnessing extreme poverty and malnutrition during a visit to her parents’ home country of Cambodia when she was 10 years old. The formative experience shaped her aspiration to contribute to a healthier and more food-secure world. Kristiana earned a B.S. in plant, soil, and insect sciences. She began her career controlling pests on a palm oil plantation in Cambodia and working in marketing to connect with and better understand people. She is excited to be a fellow in the 2026 Pivot to Plants program, where she aims to build skills in plant and data science research to further her career. As a member of the Murphy Lab, Kristiana will collaborate with scientists to investigate the effects of abiotic stresses on maize, with the goal of improving crop resilience in the face of a changing climate.
Drew Von Eaton
Prior to joining the Pivot to Plants program, Drew supervised and coordinated ground operations for United Airlines at Lafayette Regional Airport and abroad. He recently returned to school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and earned his B.S. in environmental science with a concentration in soil and water conservation. While in school, he was introduced to a plant adaptation and evolution lab on campus and was invited to join. A self-proclaimed plant nerd, Drew has been growing and caring for plants since he was young. Participating in the lab rekindled his love for plants and further defined the direction he wanted to take his life. His lab manager alerted him to the Pivot to Plants program, and he applied. Drew is excited to be gaining hands-on experience, receiving training from his mentors in the Baxter Lab, and making connections and networking with professionals and entrepreneurs in the ag-tech community.
Sasi Velchuri
Sasi graduated from Missouri State University with a B.S. in computer science and a minor in information technology. Like many new graduates, Sasi navigated a period of growth and exploration in the year that followed college. He worked part-time in IT support while continuing to search for different career paths within tech to help refine the direction he wanted to pursue. When he first learned of the Pivot to Plants program, he was drawn to the program’s focus on both plant and data science and how it would provide an opportunity to apply data science to something tangible and impactful. Sasi has joined the Shakoor Lab, where he will be working alongside his mentor Boubacar Gano and contributing to ongoing research on yam genotypes and applying UAV-based multispectral imaging and machine learning to identify traits that enhance natural weed suppression and yield.