- Creating Effective Visuals for Science Communication Workshop -

 

Jess Hopf

Scientific Graphic Designer and founder, Knowlegible Designs

Jess is a researcher-turned-scientific graphic designer. In 2020 she founded Knowlegible Designs, a consulting business that helps researchers distill their complex knowledge into visual graphics to help communicate their knowledge and findings. She works with scientists from universities and organisations around the world but especially loves doing design work for ecologists, biologists, and applied mathematicians. Jess is passionate about ensuring up-and-coming researchers have the skills to effectively share visualise their work. 

As an active researcher, Jess has a deep understanding of the challenges of visualising science. She has a background in marine conservation and ecological modeling, receiving her PhD from James Cook University, Australia, in 2016. Currently, she works part-time as a postdoc at Oregon State University, researching marine reserve efficacy in the face of climate change. 

website: knowlegible.design

twitter: @JKHopf @KnowlegibleDsg

Insta: @knowlegible.designs

 

 

- Interdisciplinary Science Communication Workshop -

 

Ellen Fisher

Dr. Ellen Fisher is currently the VPR at the University of New Mexico. Ellen has a Ph.D. in chemistry from University of Utah. She brings hands on and applied perspectives from over three decades of work on interdisciplinary science teams, participation as a former director for an REU program as well as mentoring over 50 undergraduate research students, and her extensive experience in research administration. Her background as a chemist, materials scientist, higher education administrator, and research integrity officer informs her research and practice with transdisciplinary scientific teams. Ellen has created numerous cross-disciplinary university programs to support interdisciplinary research, encourage ethical practices, create a culture of inclusion, and support women in science. She has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles spanning a diverse set of topics from laser spectroscopy to responsible conduct of research; 22 Ph.D. students and seven masters students have completed their degrees under her guidance. Ellen was also instrumental in the co-creation of the Catalyst for Innovative Partnerships program; a truly interdisciplinary program designed to enhance and promote a team science culture at Colorado State University.

 

Hannah Love

Dr. Hannah Love is a team scientist and professional facilitator. She works full-time doing team science consulting and science facilitation with Divergent Science LLC. Hannah has a MS in students affairs in higher education, a MA in sociology, and a Ph.D. in sociology from Colorado State University. Her background includes work in student affairs in higher education, water conflict facilitation, and non-profit fundraising. Hannah has 12-years of facilitation experience including experience in higher education facilitation, water conflict facilitation, and science facilitation. Since 2015 she has been using her skills in higher education to design team science trainings, retreats, and workshops for scientific teams.

Dr. Hannah Love and Dr. Ellen Fisher have been working together since 2015, and in 2019 they formed Divergent Science LLC. Their consulting work combines the knowledge of a social scientist and the experience of an interdisciplinary laboratory scientist. Divergent Science provides a unique combined perspective that allows them to provide the most effective approach to enabling high quality team science consulting for public and private universities, research laboratories, and non-profits. They have collaborated with clients who are applying for and have received funding for biology integration institutes (BII), Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID), and numerous other NSF and NIH funding opportunities. One of the key factors to their success focuses on putting theory into practice – finding practical and fun ways to engage scientists at all stages in truly integrated, transdisciplinary team science aimed effectively working toward solving global challenges.

 

 

- DEI in STEM and STEM Communication Panelists -

 

Annabelle Lolinco

Annabelle Lolinco (she/her) is a Chemical Education graduate student at Iowa State University. Using her education in chemistry and communication, she now studies how technology can impact students' conceptualization of chemistry in context through sustainability. Outside of her research, Annabelle serves as an advocate for inclusive graduate education in the chemical sciences as a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Bridge Program and ACS Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars Advisory Boards. Additionally, she is on the executive committee of ACS Division of Professional Relations as the Social Media Chair. Annabelle also chairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the National Science Policy Network (NSPN), an organization for early career STEM professionals to engage and train in policy-making and advocacy. Through NSPN, she creates opportunities to learn and participate in intersectional science policy and lift up historically under-resourced and marginalized people and communities.

 

Krystal Vasquez

Krystal Vasquez (she/her) is a science and environmental reporter who is also wrapping up her PhD in atmospheric chemistry at Caltech. Her dissertation will focus on how air quality is impacted when urban pollution mixes with natural emissions from trees. Though she entered grad school with every intention of becoming a scientist, she quickly learned that writing about scientific studies was a lot more fun than conducting them. Now, with the help of her research background, she is working to highlight Earth science research in ways that are fun and engaging for anyone, regardless of expertise. She is also passionate about covering environmental justice topics and advocating for increased inclusivity in STEM. Her work has been published in several outlets, including Scientific American, Environmental Health News, Chemistry World, and Inside Science, among others. She also regularly creates content for Journal of Science Policy & Governance and I Am A Scientist.

 

Desiré Whitmore

A Blaxican American and Southern California native, Dr. Desiré Whitmore, aka “Laserchick”, began her education in Community College and holds degrees in Physical Sciences, Chemical Engineering, and Chemical and Material Physics. Her PhD and Postdoctoral research focus was in the development of very fast laser systems to study single molecules vibrating, electrons travelling across the surface of metals, and the fluorescence of semiconducting Quantum Dots. After her postdoc, Desiré has held positions as a science curriculum specialist with Amplify Science, a professor of Laser and Photonics Technology at Irvine Valley College, and is now the Senior Physics Educator in the Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Her current work is focused on providing support and professional development to middle and high school science teachers to help them teach through inquiry. She is also a founding board member and Mentorship Advisor of the Council for the Advancement of Black Engineers, a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers with PhD’s, post-doctoral training and professional engineering registrations.

Website: tinyurl.com/laserchick

Twitter: @DarthScience

Instagram: @dr.laserchick

LinkedIn: @desirewhitmore

 

Shaz Zamore

ATLAS Institute STEM Outreach Coordinator & mischief maker, Dr. Shaz Zamore (they/them/theirs), works to bring culturally competent and immersive education focusing on new and interdisciplinary fields (like neuroengineering and biomehcanics) to under served youth. With their research project, Craniate, Dr. Z combines their neuroscience research and STEM communication experience with their lived experience as a person with multiple minoritized identities.

In a broad sense, Dr. Z is invested in creating and testing modernized solutions that 1) integrate minoritized voices and cultures, and 2) exploit neurological phenomena to facilitate solution adoption. In their many endeavors, Dr. Z also serves as the director of the ATLAS Community Outreach and Resource Network (ACORN), the Chair of the Public Affairs Committee for the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology and is currently writing a book on Black experiences in nature.

 

 

- Science Policy & Advocacy Panelists -

 

Dr. Sophia Kaska

Research!America

Sophia earned a dual major PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology and Environmental Toxicology at Michigan State University and completed postdoctoral research in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Her scientific areas of expertise are centered on opioid addiction, depression, and opioid pharmacology. Throughout her predoctoral and postdoctoral training, Sophia was actively involved in university-based organizations where she honed her leadership, science communication, and outreach skills. Sophia is also an active member of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) where she was a 2017 ASPET Washington Fellow, served as a Hill Guide for three subsequent Washington Fellows Hill Days, and currently serves on ASPET’s Science Policy Committee. Shortly after her postdoc, Sophia joined Research!America as the Manager of Science Initiatives and Outreach.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiakaska/

skaska@researchamerica.org

 

Daniel Pham, Ph.D.

Center for Strategic Philanthrophy, Milken Institute

Dr. Daniel Pham is an associate director at the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy. He utilizes his expertise in scientific research, neuroscience, science policy, and advocacy to advise philanthropic partners on opportunities to make the biggest impact in various fields of science and health. Prior to CSP, Daniel was the public affairs manager at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, relaying the needs of more than 12,000 scientists to the U.S. Congress, state and local governments, and federal scientific agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy. He was also a science policy fellow at Research!America. Daniel was on the Board of Directors of Future of Research, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to supporting early career scientists. He is the founder of Project Bridge, a student group that encourages scientists to engage with the public and their political representatives. Daniel received his bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from UCLA and a doctorate in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. 

 

 

Dr. Christina Willis

Legislative Aide to CO State Senator Joann Ginal & Prior AAAS STPF

Christina C. C. Willis is a laser scientist, author, and public speaker with a passion for public policy and volunteering. She served a year in the United States Senate as the 2019-2020 OSA / SPIE Arthur H. Guenther Congressional fellow and worked as a legislative aide for a senator in the Colorado General Assembly. In her free time she writes science fiction, teaches yoga, and volunteers as a firefighter. You can download her book Sustainable Networking for Scientists and Engineers for free from SPIE Press (https://spie.org/christinawillisbook) and you can find her on Twitter @willischristina.