NASW committees and liaisons

There are many ways to volunteer with NASW, including participating in one of the committees below. If you're a professional or student member and are interested in learning more about what you can do to get involved, visit our Volunteers page (https://www.nasw.org/volunteer) for committee member openings or calls for project volunteers. You can also contact the committee chairs and liaisons below, or our assistant executive director at aed@nasw.org

Awards

The NASW Awards Committee administers two annual awards competitions: the Science in Society Awards and the Excellence in Institutional Writing Awards. The Science in Society Awards recognize investigative or interpretive reporting about science and its impact on society. They especially target the kind of critical, probing work that would not receive an award from a special-interest group. The Excellence in Institutional Writing Awards recognize high-caliber, publicly accessible science writing produced on behalf of an institution or other non-media organization. Both sets of awards are presented at the NASW annual meeting. If you would like to serve as a judge, please contact the chairs.

Co-Chairs:
Jill Sakai
Aparna Vidyasagar

Coordinators:
Kate Travis (SIS Awards Coordinator)
Charna Albert (EIWA Awards Coordinator)

Diversity

The NASW Diversity Committee focuses on projects and programs that support diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in science journalism and science writing. The committee’s initiatives are intended to support writers from underrepresented communities and bring new professionals into the field. In 2017, the committee launched the annual Diversity Summer Fellowships program, which supplements internship stipends in order to lower a financial barrier to pursuing a career in science journalism. Additional projects include hosting a Diversity Mixer to welcome and celebrate underrepresented minorities attending the annual ScienceWriters conference, and partnering with The Open Notebook to produce the “Diverse Voices in Science Journalism” series. Diversity Committee members also work with the NASW Board and other committees across the organization to identify and implement actions that support NASW’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Chair:
Nicholas St. Fleur

Members:

Pakinam Amer
Shraddha Chakradhar
Maggie Koerth-Baker
Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
Elliot Richman
Christina Selby
Ramin Skibba
Ashley Smart
Nidhi Subbaraman
Kelly Tyrrell
Marcus Woo
Philip Yam

Editing

This is a new committee currently being formed.

Co-chairs:
Jane Marie Andrew
Katie Burke

Education

The NASW Education Committee helps aspiring science writers by providing mentoring; information about internships; information about educational opportunities; and general advice about becoming a science writer. The committee also maintains a discussion group and online resources for science-writing teachers. The committee's major projects include a mentoring program for new science writers, and an internship fair for student members, both offered at the annual AAAS meeting. The committee also offers a number of resources on the NASW Web site, such as a list of science-writing workshops and fellowships; classroom aids for science-writing teachers; and, soon, a list of college science-writing programs. Throughout the year, members respond to requests for information on science writing and science-writing careers. If you are interested in joining the Education Committee, please contact the co-chairs.

Co-chairs:
Courtney Gorman
Shel Evergreen

Coordinators:
Chia-Yi Hou (NASW Virtual Internship Fair)
Currently Open (Perlman Mentoring Program)
Deanna Csomo Ferrell (Summer Writing Awards)

Members:

Chia-Yi Hou
Courtney Gorman
Rachel Butch
Shel Evergreen
Deanna Csomo Ferrell
Jeff Grabmeier
Berly McCoy

Ethics

In 2019, NASW members overwhelmingly approved an amendment to our bylaws that reshapes our process for investigating and handling complaints. It calls for the formation of a Standing Ethics Committee, drawn from active NASW committee members. In early 2020, the board solicited applications from current committee members interested in being part of this new group, a two-year commitment. The group has met several times and, even in the midst of a pandemic, members are working together to undertake training on how to deal with harassment and bullying, review case studies of complaints commonly encountered by associations, and develop a detailed set of procedures and processes that can support their work and that of future committee members.

Members:

Emily Anthes
Shraddha Chakradhar
Jeff Grabmeier
Laurel Hamers
Laura Helmuth
Esther Landhuis
Jyoti Madhusoodanan
Bryn Nelson
Emily Willingham
Phil Yam

Fairness

The mission of the NASW Fairness Committee is to work toward and support fair and equitable treatment of all science writers. The committee has three approaches to achieving this mission. First, it seeks to identify existing or new mechanisms for community members needing problem-solving tools for situations involving equity, representation, and harassment. Second, it works to promote changes within the science writing community through data collection relevant to its fairness mission. Third, it seeks to partner with other interested entities pursuing similar goals; to promote and disseminate the freelance writer bill of rights; and, where tenable, to examine cases that arise to identify tools and problem-solving mechanisms that can be more generally and pre-emptively applied.

Chair:
Emily Willingham

Members:

Christie Aschwanden
Jennie Dusheck
Jeanne Erdmann
Deborah Franklin
Laura Helmuth
Seth Mnookin

Finance and audit

The NASW Finance and Audit Committee coordinates the board's financial oversight responsibilities by recommending policy to the board, interpreting it for the staff, and monitoring its implementation. The committee also provides board oversight of the organization's financial audit. The committee monitors the organization's financial records; reviews and oversees the creating of accurate, timely, and meaningful financial statements to be presented to the board; reviews the annual budget and recommends it to the full board for approval; monitors budget implementation and financial procedures; reviews internal financial controls; monitors budget assets; monitors compliance with federal, state, and other reporting requirements; reviews the organization's insurance coverage; and helps the full board understand the organization's finances. The committee also ensures that the organization has an independent audit of its financial statements annually, recommends the independent auditors for full board approval, receives the audit report and any other reports relating to the audit or to the assets and collection management practices of the National Association of Science Writers, and periodically reports the auditor's findings and recommendations to the board. The committee shall consist of not fewer than 2 board members. The members of the finance and audit committee shall be appointed by the president for 2-year terms. The board treasurer should chair this committee.

Treasurer and chair:
Shraddha Chakradhar

Members:

Cassandra Willyard, president (ex officio)
Rachel Courtland
Matt Davenport
Jyoti Madhusoodanan
Marilynn Marchione
Lauren J. Young

Freelance

The NASW Freelance Committee works to support full- or part-time freelance science writers. This committee focuses mainly on practical measures meant to help freelancers build and sustain a thriving business. The group also monitors long-term trends that affect the viability of freelancing as a career. Committee members helped develop NASW's Words' Worth rates database; manage a contract FAQ for writers and editors; assemble freelance-oriented panels for NASW's annual conference; and generate service articles for NASW's All About Freelancing website and for NASW's quarterly newsletter, ScienceWriters. New ideas and new members are always welcome.

Co-Chairs:
Virginia Gewin

Coordinators:
Carmen Drahl (Caregiver Project)
Esther Landhuis (Caregiver Project)
Sandeep Ravindran (Caregiver Project)

Virtual Events:

Jennifer Huber, Coordinator
Ellen Kuwana, Coordinator
Kristel Cahyadi Tjandra
Kimberly Hickok

Members:

Chris Berdik
Robin Berghaus
Rebecca Boyle
Sophia Chen
Carmen Drahl
Jennie Dusheck
Elizabeth Fernandez
Doug Fox
Jennifer Frazer
Sujata Gupta
Jeff Hecht
Jennifer Huber
Sneha Khedkar
Shi En Kim
Lynne Lamberg
Esther Landhuis
Max Levy
Kendall Powell (NASW Board liaison)
Sandeep Ravindran
Charlie Schmidt
Rina Shaikh-Lesko
Sarah Scoles
Christina Hernandez Sherwood
Ramin Skibba
Kim Smuga-Otto
Lauren Tanabe
Jessica Wapner

Governance

The NASW Governance Committee works to ensure that the organization meets its legal and moral obligations, while performing effectively and to standards of due diligence. The committee reviews the bylaws, as well as governance functions, on a regular basis. In addition to recommending best practices for the board to consider, the committee works in collaboration with board members to identify areas of policy and governance that need evaluation or update. The committee currently meets via conference call every other month and works collaboratively on research and proposal development in the interim. Contact governance@nasw.org.

Chair:
Arvind Suresh

Members:

Gretchen Miller
Clara Moskowitz
Jill Sakai
James Urton

Grants

The NASW Grants Committee is a clearinghouse for all program funding requests made to NASW that are designed to help science writers in their professional lives. Payments are drawn against NASW's Authors Coalition income. Proposals should serve non-members as well as members, though preference is given to NASW members. The committee consists of one designated representative each from NASW’s PIO, staff/full-time employed journalists, education, and freelance committees as well as a chair appointed from the board by the NASW president and such other member or members as the president chooses.

Chair:
Sheila Lai

Members:

Kimbra Cutlip
Elliot Richman
Daniel Serrano
Knvul Sheikh
Cassandra Willyard
Ling Xin

Information access

Formerly called the FOIA Committee, the NASW Information Access Committee addresses issues surrounding access to information or scientists, institutional transparency, or manipulation of data.

Chair:
Teresa Carey

Members:

Jill Adams
Robin Henig
Gabe Popkin

Internet

The NASW Internet Committee oversees the organization's Internet services, including the NASW web site. Most committee business occurs throughout the year via the committee's discussion group. If you are interested in joining, please contact the chair or director@nasw.org.

Chair:

A’ndrea Elyse Messer

Members:

Ken Chiacchia
Rebecca Guenard
Lila Guterman

Journalism

The mission of the NASW Journalism Committee is to promote and support science journalism. The committee builds programs for public outreach, training for journalists and access to documents and public records. The committee also collaborates with the Information Access committee on issues regarding transparence and public access to information.

Co-chairs:
Betsy Mason
Emily Sohn

Members:

Bethany Brookshire
Jenny Cutraro
Lydia Denworth
Betsy Mason
Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
Polina Porotsky
Erin Ross
Nidhi Subbaraman

Membership

The NASW Membership Committee reviews applications for membership when an applicant's qualifications or materials are not straightforward. The Committee also evaluates, researches, and proposes membership protocols, levels, benefits, discounts, etc. Members conduct business via a discussion group. Please email the chair if you are interested in helping out.

Chair:
Erin Ross

Members:

Raychelle Burks
Rebecca Guenard
Asher Jones
Kathiann Kowalski
Joe Palca
Ben Panko
Kasha Patel
Eleanor Spicer Rice
James Urton
Sarah Zielinski

Nominating

The NASW Nominating Committee is convened every other year, one year in advance of elections. The outgoing board president appoints the committee. This collaborative working group determines the Executive Committee (i.e. board officers) and Board slate. With consultation from the current Executive Committee and input from interested individuals, the Nominating Committee identifies and approaches members who may serve as appropriate candidates during the months preceding elections (elections occur in fall of every even year). The Nominating Committee ensures that candidates are qualified, aware of expectations, and willing to take on the role if elected. The Nominating Committee is responsible for ensuring that candidates submit biographies by each election year's bylaws-determined deadline. Interested in running for office? Stay tuned for details announced on even-numbered years.

Chair:
Cassandra Willyard, outgoing NASW president

Members:

Pakinam Amer
Siri Carpenter
Sujata Gupta
Ashley Smart
Emily Sohn

PIO

The NASW PIO Committee works to support public information officers in the sciences, including those from universities, government agencies, journals, science foundations, and other organizations. The committee helps create and encourage professional development opportunities for science PIOs, aims to recognize the science communication work PIOs perform, and provides a platform for science PIOs to discuss their craft and learn from one another. The committee is focused on ensuring the interests and values of NASW’s PIO members are reflected within the larger organization.

Co-chairs:
Laura Arenschield
Kelly Tyrrell

Members:

Melissa Blouin
Emily Caldwell
Mindy Farabee
Eric Hamilton
Audrey Huang
Jennifer Huergo
Karen Kreeger
Michael Newman
Patricia Quigley
Arvind Suresh
Tom Ulrich
Jill Williams
Deborah Wormser

Programs

The NASW Programs Committee steers the content of our yearly workshops, part of the annual ScienceWriters™ conference. Formerly known as the Workshops Committee, this group selects from the session proposals those that represent the best professional development and discussion opportunities for our diverse membership. The chair, who is the sitting NASW vice president, leads committee discussions on the format and flow of the annual meeting and determines how proposals will be evaluated and shared. Committee members serve for two years, with the most of the workload occurring mid-March to mid-April. Committee members are expected to thoughtful, vocal, and may occasionally be invited to help with crafting special sessions. Typically, all volunteers are accepted. In the event of an overwhelming response, the chair shall select members who represent the various professions of NASW members. Committee members can attend that year's annual meeting at the student rate.

Chair:
Sandeep Ravindran

Members:

Anne Connor
Jenny Cox
Jenny Cutraro
Laurel Hamers
Eli Kintisch
Katie Mast
Spoorthy Raman
Czerne Reid
Elliot Richman
Cassandra Willyard

Young audiences

The NASW Young Audiences Committee is intended to help science writers who write for children, adolescents, and young adults – or who want to explore such work – by developing resources and support for professional development, networking, and community-building.

Co-chairs:
Kristi Lew
Ruth Kimani

Members:

Andy Boyles
Jenny Cutraro
Emma Dauster
Adrian Dingle
Rebecca Hirsch
Lynne Lamberg
Aditi Subramaniam
Cameron Walker
Rachel Webber
Menaka Wilhelm
Sarah Zielinski

Liaisons to other organizations

Authors Coalition

Board member Jane Hu represents NASW and casts NASW's vote in the discussions and decisions of the organizations constituting the coalition, which generally take place during regular conference calls. As liaison, she exercises this authority in consultation with the NASW officers and board. The liaison may also serve on coalition committees, for example, the Distribution Committee, which advises on policy decisions affecting disbursement of coalition funds. Beryl Benderly was the first AC liaison, having spearheaded the development of this critical relationship for NASW.