Natalie Schulte

Natalie joined the Office of Science, Technology & Innovation (OSTI) and will be with the OSTI team through July 2026. 

Natalie is originally from Delaware, Ohio and recently received her PhD in Chemistry from Duke University. Her PhD research focused on how metals from your diet interact with proteins to make your body function well.

When she wasn’t in the lab, Natalie helped lead an interdisciplinary Bass Connections research project to investigate reproductive healthcare service availability in the state of North Carolina. She also spent 2 yrs as a Senator for the Trinity College of Arts and Science, where she helped lead discussions with legislators at the state and federal levels on wide range of issues.

As a North Carolina STEM Policy Fellow, Natalie is hoping to use data visualization and science communication to clearly present problems and solutions that benefit North Carolinians. She hopes to gain more experience in working with multiple interested parties to come up with feasible solutions to provide opportunities that drive the North Carolina economy.

Natalie will be working on several key OSTI initiatives, including an update of the biennial Tracking Innovation Report and developing new ways to track and communicate to statewide stakeholders the impact of science, technology & innovation on the economy. She can be reached at natalie.schulte@commerce.nc.gov and 740-816-1420.