John Barentine
He/Him
I am gay and I am an ex-tronomer. //
I’m an astrophysics PhD who gave up the glamorous and lucrative world of postdoc-ing to find much more stability and fulfillment working in the nonprofit sector advocating for the right of everyone, everywhere, to access the night sky for enjoyment, education, and inspiration. I’m still involved in research, in an area of physical science that’s new to me, but I’m now transitioning professionally into public policy work that combines my interests in both science and government/politics. On the side, I work in the history of astronomy and have published two books on that subject. I live in the beautiful desert of the southwest U.S. and am blessed with an incredibly supportive partner. Life is good, and truly, “it gets better.”