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#MySciComm: Josh Silberg on embracing scicomm skill development

This week, Josh Silberg responds to the #MySciComm questions! Josh Silberg is a science communicator with the British Columbia-based Hakai Institute. In his previous life as a marine ecologist, he studied creatures ranging from dolphins to whale sharks to rockfish, but he likes to think that he has no species bias. He holds a Master’s of Resource and Environmental Management…

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#MySciComm: Kristina Young on SciComm and founding the Science Moab radio show

This week, Kristina Young responds to the #MySciComm questions! Kristina is a desert dweller, graduate student, and communicator of place-based science.  She produces science shows for a regional audience on Moab, Utah’s, community radio station KZMU.  As a graduate student, she researches dryland ecology and hopes to inspire a love of science and place in her local community.  Connect with…

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#MySciComm: Skylar Bayer on saying “yes, and…” to science storytelling on radio, national TV, and beyond

This week, Skylar Bayer responds to the #MySciComm questions! Click here to listen to an audio version, or scroll to keep reading. A storyteller specializing in radio, Skylar Bayer holds a Ph.D. in marine ecology from the University of Maine. She is currently a postdoctoral associate at the Downeast Institute investigating population dynamics in mussels. Skylar has appeared on and produced…

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#MySciComm: Rebecca Johnson on citizen science, building community, and discovering together through #scicomm

This week, Rebecca Johnson responds to the #MySciComm questions! Rebecca co-directs the Citizen Science program at the California Academy of Sciences. She holds a PhD in biology (ecology and evolutionary biology) from the University of California, Santa Cruz where she studied the evolution of color pattern in chromodorid nudibranchs (really beautiful sea slugs).  She combines historical museum collections data and…

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#MySciComm: Greg Nickerson on shifting from history and journalism to scicomm

This week, Greg Nickerson responds to the #MySciComm questions! Greg is a writer and filmmaker for the Wyoming Migration Initiative, a project at the University of Wyoming that tracks wildlife migrations and shares that information with the public. He studied history of the American West and worked as a journalist in the Wyoming State Capitol before turning his interest to…

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#MySciComm: Katie Burke on forging a path from science to science journalism

This week, Katie L. Burke responds to the #MySciComm questions! Photo courtesy of Katie L. Burke Katie is the Digital Features Editor at American Scientist magazine. She holds a PhD in biology (ecology and evolution) from the University of Virginia, where she studied conservation biology in eastern deciduous forests of North America. As a journalist and editor with American Scientist, she…

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#MySciComm: Annaliese Hettinger on loss, childhood, and finding meaning in scicomm

This week, ESA SciComm Section Secretary, Annaliese Hettinger, responds to the #MySciComm questions! Photo courtesy of Annaliese Hettinger Annaliese Hettinger is a marine ecologist and science communicator based at Oregon State University. She holds a PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Davis. Annaliese serves as a Science Communication Fellow at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. She is also the Communications Officer…

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#MySciComm: Diogo Verissimo on the importance of hope in scicomm

Today, our contributor, Diogo Verissimo, launched a major #sciomm project. Keep reading for details, as Diogo explains the Lost & Found project in his responses to the #MySciComm questions! Diogo is an educator turned scientist turned marketer! He is currently a David H. Smith Conservation Fellow, based in the Washington, D.C., area. He works primarily on the design and evaluation…

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#MySciComm: Megan Litwhiler on museums as a stepping stone to scicomm

This week, Megan Litwhiler responds to the #MySciComm questions! Megan is a scientist turned science communicator. After finishing her PhD in bird ecology, and a brief stint at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, Megan moved on to her current role as a Research Communications Associate at the Museum of Science in Boston. When she’s not science communicating, she’s hanging with her daughter or birding…

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#MySciComm: Bethann Garramon Merkle on merging art and science to enhance scicomm

This week, Bethann Garramon Merkle responds to the #MySciComm questions! Bethann is an artist, writer, instructor, editor, and consultant who blends visual storytelling and science communication. She’s also a SciComm Section co-founder, the section chair-elect, and our webmaster. She is passionate about a) integrating drawing into education, research, and communication efforts, and b) the role stories play in shaping public…

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#MySciComm: Shane Hanlon on doing policy, outreach, scicomm, and science

This week, Shane Hanlon responds to the #MySciComm questions! Shane is a science communicator, recovering ecologist, science-policy advocate, educator, and storyteller. He’s teaches scicomm for Sharing Science, tells stories with The Story Collider, and still ecologizes each summer for the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology. Connect with him @EcologyOfShane and shanemhanlon.com. The #MySciComm series features a host of SciComm professionals. We’re looking…

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#MySciComm: Kika Tuff on launching a scicomm company

Drawing inspiration from the #MySci hashtag, the ESA SciComm Section is launching a new blog series called #MySciComm. Our aim is to explore the personal and professional journeys of science communicators, including the joys, struggles, and helpful resources that surfaced along their way. We are also excited to showcase the wide range of types of SciComm that people can do,…

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Contributor Guidelines

The Communication and Engagement Section blog posts feature multimedia scicomm and engagement projects, book reviews, ESA conference reflections, and lots more. If you want to know when new content and tips are posted, visit the blog home page, scroll to the bottom, and subscribe! Contributors wanted for the #MySciComm series, the Lit Review series, and general posts. See sidebar (or footer…

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Tips for Enhancing SciComm Inclusiveness

Guest post by Elita Baldridge Part of being an effective science communicator is making certain that all of your audience is able to interact with your message.   Taking into consideration conditions or disabilities that your audience or a fellow presenter might have helps to extend your reach while facilitating inclusion of those with chronic illness/disability. As an ecologist with a…

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A short guide to better PowerPoint presentations  

Written & illustrated by Simon J. Brandl I love conferences. But, during every scientific symposium I experience moments that leave me in stupefied disbelief. Why? At any given scientific conference innocent scientists are exposed to abysmally bad presentations. Since I’m unaware of a law that requires great science to be presented in a mind-blowingly boring way, this post highlights key…

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Pikas on Ice

*This piece was originally published on ESA’s EcoTone blog. Adorable and fuzzy, American pikas (Ochotona princeps) have become the spokes-critter for the consequences of climate change in alpine areas. These little fuzzballs, more closely related to rabbits than rodents, are specialized for living on the rocky slopes of mountains. They’re very sensitive to hot summer temperatures, and so, as temperatures…

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EcoTone series on Eco-Communication

Our workshop takes participants beyond why communicating science is important. We’re empowering ecologists to better communicate the stories of our science (including stories about the people doing the science) in creative, compelling and innovative ways. In order to do that, we’re working hard to spread the word about the workshop. One of our main outreach mechanisms is a series of…

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