NASW BOARD ELECTION CANDIDATE STATEMENTS

Election of the 2005-06 NASW board takes place this year with ballots mailed to all members in late October. In addition to four officers, the board consists of 11 members at large. A nominating committee, chaired by Paul Raeburn and ably assisted by Tom Siegfried, Charlie Petit, Laura Van Dam, and Deborah Blum, have assembled an outstanding slate of candidates.

NOTE: There’s still time to become a candidate for the board by submitting a petition with the signatures of 20 NASW members to NASW, P.O. Box 890, Hedgesville, WV 25427-0890. DEADLINE: October 1.

Officer candidates:

Laura van Dam—President (freelance)

As an officer and board member since 1997, I have seen up close the involvement of so many NASW members in developing our organization and helping it better serve constituents. NASW is thriving—and I want to continue participating in ways to make our association ever more effective.

As one task as vice president, I’ve chaired the workshops committee. That group is now organizing the sessions at our annual meeting and a smaller set of workshops at the annual New Horizons conference of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writers. It’s also responding to requests for workshops at other meetings, such as the upcoming 4th World Conference of Science Journalists. This past year I’ve been significantly involved as well in the decision to hold our own, independent conference, a development that’s appropriate and exciting.

I’m a freelance editor and writer, having previously worked in book, magazine, and newspaper venues. My past volunteer work for NASW includes serving as treasurer and secretary, bringing members’ particular interests to the board, organizing particular workshops, calling for a journalism-policy committee, and trying to help members who are relatively new to science writing.

Robert Lee Hotz—Vice President (Los Angeles Times)

If elected, I will seek ways for NASW to bolster its independence. I will work to broaden member services and sustain our excellent professional development programs. Furthermore, I hope to strengthen our Internet operation, which knits together our members in a virtual community.

As for my background, I am a science writer for the Los Angeles Times.

I was a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year for feature writing. I shared a 1995 Pulitzer Prize with my colleagues at the LA Times for coverage of the Northridge Earthquake and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1987 for coverage of genetic engineering issues. I have three times won the AAAS Science Journalism Award, as well as the Walter Sullivan Award from the American Geophysical Union.

I split my year between New York and Los Angeles.

I am married with two sons. We all like to scuba dive.

Carol Ezzell Webb—Treasurer (freelance)

I have been a science writer and editor for nearly 20 years, specializing in biomedicine and biology. I left my full-time job as an editor at Scientific American last fall to move to Austin, TX, with my new husband, who has started a high-tech company here. I’m currently working as a freelance and am still affiliated with Scientific American as a contributing editor.

I’ve been a member of the NASW board since 1999 and this is my second year as secretary. This is also my third year of co-chairing the Science-in-Society award committee (I was a recipient of the award in 2000).

NASW is facing a lot of changes within the next few years as we grow into a professional organization that offers even more benefits to our members. I would be honored to serve as treasurer to ensure that we continue to be a financially healthy group and stay on a sure financial course during our evolution.

Mariette DiChristina—Secretary (Scientific American)

I’m excited about the opportunity to expand my role in NASW as secretary in 2005. I’m currently the executive editor at Scientific American and have been a journalist for 18 years. As an NASW board member for the past two years, I’ve continued my work on the Education Committee (which I began co-chairing in 1997) and its popular (more than 250 served!) mentoring program.

During my tenure on the Education Committee, I’ve helped oversee and develop a number of initiatives, including informational resources on the NASW Web site for beginning science writers (in 2001) and for science educators (this year), as well as the internship fair at the annual meeting. For these efforts, I was co-winner of the 2004 Diane McGurgan Service Award.

This year, I’m co-chairing the Web Committee, which is charged with developing a redesign for our site. From May 2001 through this past May, also, I was chair of Science Writers in New York, a local NASW affiliate.

Board nominees (11 seats)

Beryl Lieff Benderly (freelance)

In 2002, through my efforts, NASW joined Authors Coalition of America. Our first full year of membership, 2003, produced over $40,000, which went to grants for members to attend CASW and NASW workshops, for the planned market information database and for other projects. As NASW’s liaison to the coalition, I “attend” monthly phone meetings and serve on the coalition’s distribution committee. Within NASW, I serve on the Freelance Committee.

A freelance with seven books, scores of articles, and a monthly column at Science magazine’s www.nextwave.scimag.org, I hope to continue working to make NASW even more useful to all our members.

Kathryn Brown (freelance, Science magazine)

During my first term as an NASW board member and Freelance Committee chair, I’ve had the good fortune to organize a great volunteer effort. Our committee members have revamped NASW’s freelance Web site, with a new design, members-only portion, and more than a dozen new articles. The committee also surveyed members to learn how NASW can be more helpful—and used that input to organize a 2004 meeting workshop on contracts, now being transcribed and posted online. We’ve strengthened ties to the Authors Coalition, begun work on a market database, contributed to NASW’s quarterly magazine, and proposed a strong slate of 2005 workshops.

I’ve also enjoyed contributing a chapter on freelancing to the new edition of A Field Guide for Science Writers. But there’s more to do—and I’d like to build on our progress. Should NASW’s freelance committee collaborate with other writing groups? What can we learn from them? How can we develop the Web site as a strong resource for help on contracts, health insurance, and other freelance issues? As a returning member of the board, I’d work to hone NASW’s freelance focus on key priorities and projects that members need most.

Glennda Chui (San Jose Mercury News)

I’ve been a science reporter for the San Jose Mercury News in California for 18 years, covering everything from astronomy to global change to nanotechnology. I also teach news writing in the UC-Santa Cruz science communication program. I’ve been a member of the Northern California Science Writers Association pretty much since it started, and have served on the board and as president. I chair the NASW Freedom of Information Committee, which keeps tabs on situations that threaten to restrict access to information that is critical for doing our jobs. The committee is working closely with the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Association of Health Care Journalists, and with a national FOI coalition recently set up under the auspices of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. I also serve on the NASW Education Committee.

Bob Finn (International Medical News Group)

As NASW’s former cybrarian, I’ve been privileged to have a ringside seat for our five most recent boards. The current board is by far the most active, establishing a number of new member services and positioning NASW with other journalism organizations to advocate for the free flow of scientific information. If elected I intend to support NASW’s continued activism.

I’m in my 25th year as a science writer, and during that time I’ve worked as a public information officer (at Caltech), a freelance (writing two books and hundreds of magazine articles), and as a staff journalist (for the last three years I’ve been San Francisco Bureau Chief for the International Medical News Group). Because of this broad experience, I believe that as a board member I’ll be able to represent freelancers, staff journalists, and PIOs—NASW’s three main constituencies.

One of NASW’s principal challenges over the next year or so will involve a thorough redesign of our Web site. I managed that site for eight years, and no one knows its shortcomings better than I. As a board member I plan to take a lead role in the Web Committee as it hires a designer, works with him or her on the redesign, and helps our new cybrarian implement that design.

Jon Franklin (University of Maryland)

I am a long-time science writer known for my innovative stories about research and the culture of science. My credits include five books, the Grady medal, inaugural Pulitzers in the feature writing and explanatory journalism categories, and a special Penney-Missouri award. I am a veteran of 22 years’ science reporting for newspapers and magazines; my academic career includes the leadership of a science writing department and a creative writing program. The founder and moderator of WriterL, I am currently the Philip Merrill Professor of Journalism at the University of Maryland. I have served two terms on the board.

Robin Marantz Henig (freelance)

Maybe it’s because I’m a full-time freelance writer that my work on the NASW board for the past six years has been so satisfying—it’s the only way I have colleagues anymore! I relish the chance to help shape our group into a body with a serious, issues-oriented public face, as well as a friendlier private side. Our current efforts to professionalize our annual meeting—including the option of holding it as a stand-alone event untethered from any scientific society—show how much we’ve evolved. Also noteworthy is our increasing collaboration with other writers groups in speaking out about issues that affect us all, from freelance contract debates to concerns over access to public documents.

I spend most of my time writing books, the most recent being Pandora’s Baby, and I’m one of the three co-editors on the second edition of NASW’s classic book, A Field Guide for Science Writers, which I think will turn out to be even better than the first. As a relatively recent transplant to Manhattan, I’ve also been contributing regularly to the New York Times, especially the science section and the NYT Magazine.

Phil Hilts (freelance)

While there are several key organizations in journalism, I think NASW is now among the most important to support. It has grown greatly, and its mission and character have changed over the years since I became a member in the 1980s. Services for members are important and new ideas for serving writers need to be explored. Can NASW provide some research services for writers, or be a resource in some other ways? I think the questions are worth exploring. And of course, now, when journalism is under attack, NASW needs to continue to be an organization that enunciates and defends high standards.

The leadership at NASW, I believe, has been good, and I would like to carry on what has been started. I have experience both as a newspaper reporter (at the Washington Post and the New York Times, about 20 years) and a freelancer (about 10 years). I have written books and magazine pieces, and have been a journalism teacher at Boston University and University of Botswana. I believe I can do a good job representing the different needs and points of view among science writers.

Tom Paulson (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

I’m a good candidate for psychotherapy, is what I think. I was asked to run for the board and, despite my better judgment and a temperament unsuited to organizational activities, I agreed for these reasons:

First, I got my start in the science writing biz some 20 years ago thanks to this bunch and I feel somewhat obliged to give something back.

Second, my regional group (the Puget Sound Science Writers Association) has never really developed beyond a core group of nerds, and I thought service on the board might help us grow the local group.

Third, as an organizer for some NASW activities during AAAS 2004 in Seattle (workshops, the Sunday bash) I discovered that I actually enjoyed getting to know and working with many of those at NASW who keep this organization running like a well-oiled machination.

Finally, I think NASW needs to continue to examine its organizational mission to remain relevant and vibrant, and I would like to be a part of that discussion.

C. Blake Powers (freelance)

I have been a member of NASW for 19 years. I started in both newspaper and radio journalism and have watched both journalism and communications change in profound ways. As a freelance journalist and writer, it is my hope to work on the board for both the freelance and general members, to find ways to help encourage the best possible practices in all ways, and to help NASW and its membership cope with the changes that are underway. Rather than reacting, I would like to get ahead of the curve wherever possible, so that each of us has the best options, the best opportunities, and the best resources, so that new benchmarks can be set across the board.

Tabitha M. Powledge (freelance)

Electronic publishing and other radical structural changes in markets for science writers have come to dominate our work lives. Since 1997, I have examined those changes regularly in a ScienceWriters column, The Free Lance. Since I first ran four years ago, the NASW board has evolved into a more activist group, concerned about professional issues ranging from electronic rights to cooperation with other groups of writers. We are reorganizing the annual meeting, planning expanded services for our growing number of freelance members, and working to improve reliability of e-mail and Web hosting that are crucial for our businesses and for exchanging information with each other.

I have been founding editor of The Scientist, an editor at what is now Nature Biotechnology and AAAS, and long a contributing editor for the National Academy of Science’s policy quarterly, Issues in Science and Technology. A full-time freelance since 1990, I have written in the past few years for Scientific American, Health magazine, PLOS Biology, The Scientist, the Washington Post, BioScience, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Current Biology, and Web publications such as Salon.com, HMS Beagle/BioMedNet.com, and The Scientist.

Nancy Shute (U.S. News & World Report)

In the past two years, I’ve been part of the group that has helped NASW develop a stronger, more independent annual meeting, and worked to resolve our difficulties with member access to the AAAS meeting. NASW’s diverse membership is a great strength, and I’m also working on expanding our outreach to minority communities.

I’m a senior writer at U.S. News & World Report, covering science and medicine. But I’ve been through many mutations as a journalist—from a small-town newspaper and television reporter in Idaho, on to covering Congress and the Supreme Court, then freelancing for magazines including Outside, Health, and Smithsonian. In the early 1990s, I founded the first bilingual newspaper in Kamchatka, Russia, on a Fulbright. Through it all, NASW has been an invaluable source of practical advice, professional insight, and camaraderie.

I’d like to continue to help NASW develop programs that will be useful and interesting to members, while defending the organization’s independence and financial integrity.

Sally Squires (Washington Post)

During my quarter century as a medical writer, mostly at the Washington Post, I’ve seen huge changes in the coverage of medicine and science, shifting from “just the facts, ma’am” to more analysis and application.

As science writers, is our role to inform, educate, or a combination of both? How do we find the path between giving readers (viewers and listeners) information that is accurate, up-to-date, and useful without inadvertantly taking on the vested interests or agendas of science or politics? How do we balance public health with science journalism? Those are some of the questions that I’m interested in pursuing if chosen to serve as a board member of NASW.

Making sense of conflicting scientific information is an increasingly key part of our jobs. During a recent meeting of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, I listened with great fascination as scientists read identical research papers and came to opposite conclusions (and no, the differences couldn’t simply be explained by ties to industry). In this case, the topic was the effect of added sugars on body weight, but it could have easily been global warming, or any number of other contentious topics. For that reason, I’d also like to explore new ways to provide science writers with the tools, resources, and information to better do their work on these and other often complex issues that are poised to arise in the coming years.

Curt Suplee (National Science Foundation)

As a multi-faceted has-been, I’m probably qualified to represent a broad spectrum of NASW members. I’ve written four books and dozens of freelance magazine stories, worked as a writer and editor at the Washington Post for 25 years, and now run the public information operation for the National Science Foundation. I’ve won writing awards from AAAS, the American Chemical Society, the American Astronomical Society, and so forth.

I’ve been on the board for one term, and have tried to encourage ever-higher professional standards and organizational integrity, as well as enhanced practical benefits for members. As NASW continues its evolution into an increasingly independent and influential group, those goals will only grow in importance.

M. Mitchell Waldrop (freelance)

If elected, I would bring to the NASW board 13 years’ experience as a magazine reporter (Chemical & Engineering News and Science), 12 years as a freelance magazine writer and book author, and one year as a public affairs officer (for the National Science Foundation). So if nothing else, I would be able to address issues that come before the board from many different perspectives.

In particular, I want to focus on freedom of information. Science journalism—like science itself—is grounded in the belief that information ought to be shared as widely and as openly as possible. And yet, restrictions on this free flow of information seem to be proliferating as never before. We still have all the familiar pressures of commercialization, as when scientists hold back on publication for patent reasons. But now, in the post-9/11 era, we also have new national-security pressures. And we have an Administration stonewalling on everything from how energy and environmental decisions are made to its intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.

For NASW members, this restriction of the information flow is both an ongoing story to be covered and daily reality that can greatly complicate our ability to do our jobs. NASW has already done a great deal to tackle this problem—by monitoring the situation (through the board’s Freedom of Information committee), by speaking out as group, and by offering professional development workshops that help journalists cope. If elected to the board, I would work to continue and strengthen those efforts.

Kelli Whitlock (freelance)

Like many science writers, I was drawn to the field by a love of writing and a curiosity about science and medicine. Since 1990, I have worked as a medical reporter for The Tuscaloosa News and as a PIO and magazine editor/writer for Ohio State University, Ohio University, and Whitehead Institute. I now am a full-time freelance writer based in Ohio. I have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Alabama and Ohio University, respectively, and have taught science writing to undergraduate journalism students.

I served as co-chair of the NASW Education Committee from 1997-2004, during which time I co-coordinated the annual Mentoring at AAAS program and helped launch two Web sites targeted at new science writers and science writing teachers. I was a co-recipient of the Diane McGurgan Service Award in 2004 and recently was named co-chair of the NASW Web Committee, which is charged with the task of redesigning the organization’s Web site.

Since joining NASW in 1995, my fondness for the organization has grown through my relationships with others who share my desire to advance science writing through mentoring, professional development, and outreach. In the coming years, NASW will broaden its reach in the science-writing community by expanding its workshops and Web site. I’ve contributed to these efforts in the past and would welcome the opportunity to continue that work as a member of the board.

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