Since 2014 I have directed taste of science, a nationwide event series and annual science festival. I’ve managed hundreds of volunteers putting together events in over 22 cities across the US, to connect audiences with scientists and their research in everyone’s favorite hangouts.

More recently as part of my work for the ASBMB SOCC, I’ve led a group to put together the society’s Community Day, for high school students from underrepresented groups to get a flavor for a real scientific conference. Activities include watching and judging a flash talk competition, hands on biochemistry experiments and a “meet the scientist” panel, giving them an opportunity to ask those burning questions.

As a co-director of the Sensational SciFest; I have created a festival to celebrate STEAM subjects, with hands on activities designed to put the needs of sensory sensitive kids first.

Specific skills

• project management, development and execution

• community management

• infrastructure and non-profit management

• Finance and accounting

• Grant writing and fundraising

• accessible content

Since 2013 I have been recording, editing and, with my husband David, producing 2Scientists; a podcast about scientists, their career paths, their research and the success and challenges they experience. Having recorded close to 100 episodes with over half a million downloads, we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know and telling the stories of the amazing people behind the work.

More recently, we’ve launched the Spanish-language sibling in the form of 2Científicos allowing me to expand my skill set to include podcast editing in Spanish.

Our work at 2Scientists attracted the attention of the office of Community Outreach, Engagement & Equity at Moffitt Cancer Center. With the COEE team I’ve created Cancer in our Community, a podcast for the Moffitt catchment area, about racial health disparities and the people working to tackle these challenges. Hosted by Drs. Brandon Blue (English) and Sarimar Agosto Salgado (Spanish), each episode is a conversation with physicians, researchers and local community members coming together to work towards more equitable health outcomes for all people living with cancer.

While the content is often serious and vital for the listeners, I love that our hosts’ style makes the subject matter approachable, and it’s clear that they and the guests have a genuinely good time.

I’m also now the host of https://www.smb.org/podcastBiology in numbers, a podcast by the Society for Mathematical Biology. The target audience is their membership as a way to create community and foster an exchange of ideas. Also to communicate work being done in the field for a wider non-expert audience. Season 1 of this 10-episode series included discussions of everything from the exciting work being published in scientific articles, to the need for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in math biology, to the more fundamental aspects of what life is like as a research scientist.
As a host with a scientific background myself but a non-expert in the field, I help drive the conversation to help keep the subject interesting and accessible to two quite unique audiences.

Specific skills

• understanding the host organization and the community they serve to accurately capture their voice and fulfill their goals

• using a culturally responsive and client-focused lens

• working with marketing and communications teams to craft a brand

• messaging and content creation

• compiling and presenting audience metrics

I have acted as a reviewer to gauge the suitability of candidates and projects in various settings including:

• The SciOut unconference - reviewing participant pre-work to select candidates to lead discussions

• Evaluating proposals for the ASBMB’s outreach grant

• Reviewing speaking candidates for the ASBMB’s annual flash talk competition

The Science Festival Alliance hired me to evaluate a funded outreach project as part of “Science In Vivo”. With my colleague Vaughan James we attended St Pete pride where the St. Petersburg science festival created a float to integrate science into a large public event. We compiled a report to share the key observations, successes and constructive feedback with the project leaders in a series of listening sessions.

Specific skills

• rubrics and coding

• assessing relevance to target audience

• evaluating project design

• inclusive survey design

I am a confident public speaker who has been invited to give numerous talks and presentations in-person and virtually. This includes panel discussions I have participated in as a subject matter expert or as the moderator driving the conversation.

I have acted as the MC for many informal science communication events and given interviews or recorded other content for media including the ASBMB’s Art of science communication course.

Subject matter for these speaking engagements includes:

• my neuroscience research

• scientific outreach and public engagement with STEM

• careers in scientific research and outreach

• the scientific process

You can find more details on past talks here.

I have extensive experience designing and running workshops for scientists and STEM event creators, on a range of topics. Organizing these events for diverse audiences can be challenging, so I pride myself on making activities relevant, interactive, entertaining, and therefore of value to the participants.

Areas of focus include:

• Scientific Storytelling

• Transforming Research into Equitable Outreach

• Running science outreach events in public spaces

• Developing partnerships

• Science communication in different languages

You can find more details on past workshops here.