NASW officers, executive board, and key people
NASW is a volunteer-led professional membership organization, and running for board leadership is a reflection of each candidate’s belief in the importance and role of NASW for its membership and to society — a sense of duty and commitment to volunteer service that has successfully guided the organization for more than ninety years.
Officers
Sandeep Ravindran | he/him, president
Freelance
LinkedIn
A freelance science journalist with bylines in the New York Times, TIME, Smithsonian, National Geographic, Science, Nature, WIRED, and other outlets, Sandeep is now serving his fourth term on the NASW Board, having served as vice president for the past two years and treasurer and secretary over preceding terms. Additionally, in 2023 and 2024 Sandeep chaired the NASW Programs Committee, which curates the NASW professional development sessions and plenaries for the annual ScienceWriters national conference.
First elected to the board in 2018
Shraddha Chakradhar | she/her, vice president
Deputy Editor, Diversity for Science
LinkedIn
With past career stops at Nieman Journalism Lab, STAT, and Nature Medicine, Shraddha enters her third term on the NASW Board, having served as board treasurer and chair of the NASW Finance and Audit Committee this past term, and as co-chair of the Diversity Committee from 2016-2019. Shraddha now takes on the role of NASW Programs Committee chair, shaping the future of NASW professionals development conferences and other activities.
First elected to the board in 2020
Kat Eschner | any pronouns, secretary
Lead Researcher and Segment Producer, TVO (Canada)
LinkedIn
Like many other members, Kat’s first exposure to NASW came at our annual conferences. Since then, Kat has been active in NASW by organizing ScienceWriters professional development sessions and by volunteering with the David Perlman Virtual Mentoring Program, as well as her board duties. She is based in Toronto and is entering her second term on the NASW Board.
First elected to the board in 2022
Jyoti Madhusoodanan | she/her, treasurer
Freelance and AHCJ Civic Science Fellow
LinkedIn
An independent journalist with bylines in Scientific American, Nature, and Discover magazine, and a senior contributor at Undark magazine, Jyoti is currently completing a year-long Civic Science fellowship at the Association of Healthcare Journalists. A co-chair of the NASW Awards Committee from 2018 to 2022 and a past member of the Standing Ethics committee, Jyoti now enters her third term serving on the NASW Board, most recently serving as secretary.
First elected to the board in 2020
Board members-at-large
Marla Broadfoot | she/her
Freelance
LinkedIn
An active NASW volunteer, Marla is now beginning her second board term. She moderated a ScienceWriters Roundtable on mental health and self-care for journalists facing tough transitions and worked to formalize the board’s approach to issuing statements on science writing issues. As a member of the ScienceWriters 2024 Steering Committee and a past president of the Science Communicators of North Carolina, she helped to bring the annual meeting to Raleigh. She is a contributing editor at American Scientist and an alum of the Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowship. Marla’s work has appeared in Scientific American, Science, STAT, Smithsonian, Knowable, Discover, Nature News, and Science News, among others.
First elected to the board in 2022
Amanda Heidt | she/her
Freelance
LinkedIn
Now entering her second term, Amanda has previously co-organized two NASW Science Writers Roundtable public talks and a virtual plenary on science writing and A.I., and is currently developing new policies for handling member conduct disputes. Spanning a career that has included stints as a staff writer, PIO, and freelancer, Amanda’s work can be found in Science, Nature, NPR, Scientific American, and the New York Times, among other outlets.
First elected to the board in 2022
Alla Katsnelson | she/her
Freelance
LinkedIn
Having reported on life sciences for publications including Nature, Chemical & Engineering News, The New York Times, and Men’s Health and produced content for a variety of research institutions, foundations and companies, Alla has claimed NASW as her professional community for more than 15 years. A past co-chair of the NASW Awards Committee, Alla begins her first term on the NASW Board.
First elected to the board in 2024
Marilynn Marchione | she/her
Chief Medical Writer (Retired) for The Associated Press
LinkedIn
Bringing 17 years of experience with AP plus past careers with large urban newspapers and a university news service, Marilynn now continues her NASW board service for a third term, as well as her work on the NASW Finance and Audit Committee. Marilynn brings a wealth of insights and ideas from working in and observing the news media industry over many decades.
First elected to the board in 2018
Katie Mast | she/her
Publications Manager for the Santa Fe Institute
LinkedIn
An active volunteer on the NASW Programs Committee and past volunteer with the NASW Conflict of Interest Working Group and recipient of the NASW Peggy Girshman Idea Grant, Katie begins her first term on the NASW Board. She launched her science-writing career at High Country News before taking on magazine, nonprofit contracts, and fact-checking assignments as a freelancer. She now works in institutional communications at the Santa Fe Institute.
First elected to the board in 2024
Rodrigo Pérez Ortega | he/him
Staff Writer for Science
LinkedIn
Reelected to his third term on the NASW Board, Rodrigo is a past recipient of the NASW Diversity Summer Fellowship. Paying forward his experience, Rodrigo has served as past co-chair of the NASW Diversity Committee and helped launch the inaugural Mid-Career Mentoring Program via the NASW Journalism Committee. He has bylines in the New York Times, Nature Medicine, El País, and other outlets, and is Editorial Director of The Open Notebook en Español. He is based in Mexico City.
First elected to the board in 2020
Ariana Remmel | they/them
Freelance
LinkedIn
Ariana is an independent reporter and audio producer covering a mix of national and local news for outlets such as the Arkansas Times, Audubon, BirdNote, Nature, and Science. Ari is a past recipient of the NASW Diversity Summer Fellowship and an active volunteer with the NASW Education Committee and the NASW Awards Committee. Ari begins their first term on the NASW Board.
First elected to the board in 2024
Priyanka Runwal | she/her
Associate Editor with Chemical & Engineering News
LinkedIn
Priyanka moved from India to the United States in 2018 to pursue a career in science journalism. Her bylines have appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, and National Geographic, in addition to covering the COVID-19 pandemic and other health and medicine stories as National Geographic’s resident reporter. Priyanka begins her first term on the NASW Board.
First elected to the board in 2024
Leah Shaffer | she/her
Senior News Director, Science, for Washington University in St. Louis
LinkedIn
Leah begins her first term on the NASW Board. She worked as a community journalist in Minnesota for a decade before transitioning to freelancing, crediting the support of the NASW member community as part of that success. She currently writes about brain science and engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Integrating her journalism and institutional experiences, Leah believes in the importance of transparency in sharing stories about science.
First elected to the board in 2024
Ramin Skibba | he/him
Freelance
LinkedIn
Ramin is a former staff writer with WIRED and a former astrophysicist, and now he freelances for outlets including Scientific American, Slate, the Atlantic, Rolling Stone, and Undark. Bringing past experience as president of the San Diego Science Writers Association, Ramin begins his third term on the NASW Board, where he has led policy statements on A.I. and labor and organized Science Writers Roundtables.
First elected to the board in 2020
Kelly Tyrrell | she/her
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Content Strategy for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
LinkedIn
Kelly begins her second term on the NASW Board, having volunteered in previous years as co-chair of the NASW PIO Committee as a co-organizer of past conference plenaries and in service to the NASW Diversity Committee and the NASW Education Committee. Her varied career stops have spanned regional newspapers, freelancing and higher education leadership. She also authored her first book, about the history of Wisconsin’s Washburn Observatory, in May 2024, and serves as engagement editor for the science journalism non-profit, The Open Notebook.
First elected to the board in 2022
Other key NASW people
Tinsley Davis, executive director
Tinsley Davis has led the National Association of Science Writers as executive director since 2008. As the sole staff member, she manages all aspects of the 2,200+ membership organization’s programs, projects, and grants and supports the leadership of the volunteer board of directors. Tinsley represents NASW’s interest in a variety of collaborative efforts, including the Authors Coalition, where she was Finance Committee chair from 2018-2020, and the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM and is a member of the emerging LISTEN network for leaders in science engagement. Tinsley has organized the annual NASW workshops since 2005, when she took on the role as a freelance side hustle, and brokered the development of the first ScienceWriters meeting in 2006. Under her leadership, this annual joint conference with the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing has grown steadily, bringing together 500 to 800 science writers together each year for professional development sessions, science briefings, and field trips. Tinsley leads NASW’s presence in the international community and recently co-organized the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists in San Francisco, which attracted 1,200 international science journalists and communicators. Previously, Tinsley worked at the Gordon Current Science & Technology Center at the Museum of Science in Boston on novel methods to engage adult audiences with science news. A former microbiologist with an M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Tinsley is an alum of Swarthmore College and spends those elusive hours of free time galloping cross country and competing in eventing.
Ben Young Landis, assistant executive director
Ben Young Landis began as assistant director of the National Association of Science Writers in May 2022, becoming the organization’s second staff member. Supporting executive director Tinsley Davis, Ben’s portfolio focuses on NASW’s member communication channels, spanning our print magazine, email newsletter, social media accounts, news releases, and other digital content, as well as NASW’s growing slate of virtual events. Additionally, Ben is charged with assessing, managing, and innovating NASW’s ongoing organizational support for our many volunteer committees — whose energy and dedication truly create the contact points and hands-on benefits that so many science writers enjoy. As Ben grows into his role staffing Tinsley and the NASW board, he’ll draw on his seasoned experience as an independent consultant providing creative strategy, design, training, and facilitation services to clients from across academia, nonprofits, state government, industry, and small businesses. Prior to consulting, Ben worked as a science communication specialist with the U.S. Department of Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey; an editorial assistant with North Carolina Sea Grant; and a newsroom intern with the Orange County Register. He holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, along with his B.A. in Evolution and Ecology with a Minor in Education from the University of California, Davis. As the NASW work rhythm settles into its seasons, Ben looks forward to rekindling his fondness for the aquarium fish hobby and continuing his years-long streak of weekly fish art.
Russell Clemings, cybrarian
A'ndrea Elyse Messer, assistant cybrarian
The cybrarian is NASW's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) agent.
Office address:
National Association of Science Writers, Inc.
P.O. Box 7905
Berkeley, CA 94707
Phone: (510) 859-7229
NASW is an equal opportunity employer. View our Equal Employment Opportunity and Harassment Policy.
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