CSWA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Peter McMahon
President (president@sciencewriters.ca)

Peter McMahon is an award-winning science journalist who has worked for CTV, Discovery Channel, written for The Toronto Star, the kids publication YES Mag, CAA online magazine, and written science features for such magazines as Canadian Geographic, Today’s Parent, and Sky News: The Canadian Magazine of Astronomy and Stargazing where he writes a regular column on “wilderness astronomy” and serves as a contributing editor.

In February of 2010, he covered health science stories at the Vancouver Winter Games for CTVolympics.ca

While serving as senior online producer for Discovery Channel, Peter hosted, edited, and produced the first TV-quality LIVE science specials on the Internet.

An avid “wilderness astronomer” , Peter was the first to propose that Jasper National Park become a dark sky preserve, and worked with Parks Canada to have it designated the world’s largest astronomy park, as of March 2011.

He has spoken on science communication and astronomy at countless universities, science centres, conferences, and national parks, as well as delivering science communication workshops at Science North/Laurentian University’s Science Communication program and The Banff Centre.

Peter’s second installment in the Machines of the Future science experiment book series – Space Tourism – published by Kids Can Press, is now in bookstores across the U.S. and Canada.

Stephen Strauss
Vice-President

Stephen wrote articles, columns and editorials about science and technology for the Globe and Mail for more than 20 years.

He has also authored three books, several book chapters, and for his efforts received numerous awards.

Through all his time in journalism, he still remains smitten by the enduring wisdom of the motto of Austrian writer Karl Kraus: Say what is.
(Excerpted from his bio on CBC.ca, where he has a regular column on Analysis & Viewpoint.)

Kathryn Warden
Vice-President, Research Communications

Kathryn is the Director of Research Communications for the University of Saskatchewan. Reporting to the Vice-President Research, she leads an office that is responsible for building profile for U of S research, scholarly and artistic work which involves production of a research magazine, videos, and student research feature story series in partnership with The Star Phoenix.

She has 25 years of journalism experience, having held a variety of posts at the Calgary Herald, Toronto Star and The Star Phoenix, including reporter, columnist and editorial writer. In 1982-83, she attended the University of Toronto on a Southam Fellowship.

She has been the recipient of awards in journalism and communications and serves as an adjudicator for numerous competitions. Keenly interested in science communication, she has mentors student writers through the U of S SPARK (Students Promoting Awareness of Research Knowledge) Program.

Andy Visser-deVries
Treasurer

Andy F. Visser-deVries served as Executive Director of The Canadian Science Writers’ Association from 1991-2004. Currently, he is the sole proprietor of Mistakes Can Happen, offering copyediting and proofreading services for individuals and organizations in need of a keen eye and attention to detail.

Previously, Andy worked as a Development and Recruitment Officer with Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, and he also served as Interim Executive Director for Community Research Initiative of Toronto.

Andy first began his writing career as an editorial contributor for XTRA! Magazine in Toronto from 1990-1992.

Born and raised in northern Ontario, Andy lived for a number of years in Saskatoon and in Toronto, but now lives in the countryside on Lake Ontario near Cobourg, Ontario. He has an educational background in business, theology, and world religions, and has a life-long interest in history, science, culture, and personal identity. An avid reader, Andy also enjoys architecture, world travel, cycling, and gardening, and is a dedicated fan of the television series, “The Big Bang Theory”.

Margret Brady-Nankivell
Board member

Margret Brady-Nankivell is an Ottawa-based freelance writer who has written many science feature pieces for the Ottawa Citizen’s broadsheet magazine, The Citizen’s Weekly.

She has served as Programmes & Communications Manager for British Council Canada, during which time she facilitated countless youth attending hands-on education and awareness programs in the Arctic, as well as dozens of youth attending CSWA conferences in such transformative locations as Whitehorse, Yukon.

She has also written for the National Post and The Financial Post on a range of subjects including science as well as other organisations on contract.

Topics of her writing include astronomy, big science research facilities and health sciences.

Pauline Dakin
Board member

Pauline Dakin is the award-winning national health and medical reporter for CBC News.

Her work has been recognized with awards from the National Science Writers Association, the Canadian Association of Journalists (multiple awards for investigative reporting), The Canadian Medical Association/Canadian Nurses Association, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, the international Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Radio-Television News Directors Association, and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada. She was also nominated for Canada’s top journalism prize, The Michener Awards for a collaborative series on adverse drug reactions in children.

Pauline is also the host of the regional documentary program, Maritime Magazine.

She has worked as a producer, reporter, on-air host and assignment editor in various media including film, television, radio and print.

Originally from North Vancouver, B.C., she has also lived in Manitoba, New Brunswick and is now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Jim Handman
Board member

Jim Handman has been the Executive Producer of the CBC Radio science program, Quirks & Quarks, for the past dozen years. During that time, he has won numerous prizes and honours for science journalism, including the Walter Sullivan Award from the AGU; the Science Writing Award from the American Institute of Physics; as well as many awards from the Canadian Science Writers Association.

Jim has also taught broadcast journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto, conducted workshops for the Graduate Science Communications program at Laurentian University in Sudbury, and taught radio at the National University of Rwanda. He was also a Science-Writer-in-Residence at the journalism school of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Before joining Quirks & Quarks, Jim was a senior journalist and producer with CBC Radio News, serving as Foreign Editor of National News and Senior Producer of World Report and The World This Weekend.

Hannah Hoag
Board member

Hannah is a freelance journalist who writes about science, the environment and medicine.

Her articles have appeared in Nature, Discover, New Scientist, Seed, National Geographic News, Canadian Geographic, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Literary Review of Canada, and more.

Hannah holds graduate degrees in biology and in science and medical journalism.

She once did research on rare genetic diseases, has worked as a medical writer at a healthcare communications company, an editor at the McGill University Health Centre and mentored students in the McGill University WARM-SPARK program.

She has also hitchhiked through parts of Africa, trekked on Baffin Island, lived on an ice breaker and coached rowing.

Romilla Karnick
Board member

Romilla is an associate producer with The Nature of Things at CBC. She has worked with CBC’s news team as a chase producer, a tape producer and as a researcher on the national assignment desk. Her freelance work has appeared in YesMag, online at the Ontario Science Centre, in the Science Media Centre of Canada backgrounders, and in textbooks.

Romilla holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Chemistry from the University of Western Ontario, and completed her Bachelor of Journalism at Ryerson. While in transition from science geek to storyteller, Romilla worked as an Educator at the Ontario Science Centre and as an intern with Discovery Channel Canada.

She has lived in Canada, Singapore and the UK.

Lisa Lambert
Board member

Lisa is the Manager of External Relations at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI). She is responsible for sharing information and building partnerships with key stakeholders, public partners, the media and other groups and individuals.

With experience working in various capacities in both research and science communication, Lisa is a member of the technical editing team at the Journal of Infection in Developing Countries. In addition, she has spearheaded various science communication activities involving international organizations and partners.

Lisa’s most recent post prior to joining PI was as a Program/Research Associate with the Council of Canadian Academies in Ottawa. In this role, Lisa supported science-based, expert studies aimed at informing public policy development.

Lisa received an Honours B.Sc. in neuroscience and pursued her graduate studies in science communication where she researched the discussion of science in political discourse. To supplement her graduate training, Lisa completed certificates in writing and professional communication and participated in the Banff Centre’s science communication program.

Margaret Munro
Board Member

Margaret reports on the latest scientific developments, and controversies, for Canwest News Service, which serves 11 newspapers across Canada, including the Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and Vancouver Sun.

Munro joined the Ottawa Citizen in 1978 and was soon making headlines with stories on genetic engineering and acid rain. She covered the launch of the first space shuttles and the demise of Canada’s nuclear reactor program before moving to Vancouver.

Munro spent a decade at the Vancouver Sun and five years at the National Post, before joining Canwest in 2003. Her recent reporting has taken her from Canada’s Prairies for stories on carbon sequestration to the Arctic to write about the ancient permafrost tumbling into the sea.
She has also taught science writing at the University of B.C.’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Munro’s honors includes four national writing awards from the Canadian Science Writers’ Association, the 2003 Michener Fellowship for Public Service Journalism and the 2008 David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism from the American Geophysical Union. She received a 2009 media award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Kathleen Thurber
Board member

Kathleen is the Director of Communications and Education at Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (formerly Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.)

Two of her goals there are to increase the opportunities for the accurate presentation of science to the media and to enhance understanding of the value of the scientific process and investment.
To do so, she has created and expanded several programs: a summer research experience for youth, a summer media experience for science students, and summer workshops for teachers to increase their comfort with the scientific process.

She has sat on the organizing committee for the Jasper 2005 CSWA conference, is involved in the writing component of the Banff Science Communications Program, and has previous board experience with a number of non-profit and education boards, including Edmonton Arts Council, Edmonton First Night Festival, and Talmud Torah School.

In 2007, she completed a Master’s degree in creative non-fiction in English about the life and research of a female neuroscientist.