CSWA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stephen Strauss
President, president@sciencewriters.ca
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.)
Jude Isabella
Vice-President, Journalist
A journalist for over two decades, Jude Isabella has spent the bulk of her career as managing editor of YES Mag, a Canadian science magazine for kids. As a freelance writer, she has written for publications that include The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, Archaeology Magazine, New Scientist, The Loh Down on Science, BBC Wildlife Magazine, and BC Magazine. As well, Isabella is a semi-regular contributor to The Tyee, Vancouver’s online magazine, covering science and environment. She continues to write science for kids; her fifth book (Kids Can Press, Chit Chat: A Celebration of the World’s Languages) is scheduled for a Fall 2013 release. A book for grown ups, Salmon: A Scientific Memoir, will be published in 2013 by RMB Publishing. Isabella is currently working on a interdisciplinary master’s degree in anthropology and writing at the University of Victoria.
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.
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.
Brock King
Board Member
Brock King has spent pretty much his entire career as a science communications specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Which surely speaks to his tenacity, if nothing else. But if further evidence is needed, Brock has also been a member of CSWA for almost as long.
As a long-time federal science communicator, Brock is specially attuned to the current situation between the media and federal research scientists. As a CSWA Director, he brings his insights and observations to bear on this issue, striving to improve linkages and build trust between both camps. Brock is currently the manager of a science communications unit. He also claims to have outgrown the ‘tiresome pedant’ stage.
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 is a Senior Writer with Postmedia News, which reaches millions of Canadians through its chain of newspapers and websites including the Ottawa Citizen, National Post, Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun. She has been writing about science for 30 years starting at the Ottawa Citizen, where she covered the launch of the first space shuttles and the demise of Canada’s nuclear reactor program before moving to the Vancouver Sun. In 2003 she joined Canwest News (now Postmedia News) where her work has taken her from the Arctic to write about ancient permafrost melting into the sea to remote Canadian communities struggling with diabetes epidemics. Her stories exposing how the Canadian government has been muzzling and silencing its scientists has attracted national and international attention. Munro is the recipient of several writing awards from the Canadian Science Writers’ Association, the 2003 Michener Fellowship for Public Service Journalism, a 2009 media award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and was shortlisted for Canadian Association of Journalists awards in 2011 and 2012.
Pippa Wysong
Board Member
Pippa Wysong is a freelance science writer who also writes for kids. She
wrote the Ask Pippa Q&A science column for kids for the Toronto Star for 20 years, and contributes news stories and features to a variety of major
newspapers and magazines. She joined the CSWA when she first broke into
science writing a really long time ago.
She has an affinity for the association because of the great friends and
contacts she’s made over the years. Pippa served as a board member in the
early ’90s, organized local events for members in Toronto, and periodically
helped organize parts of some of CSWA’s national conferences. Pippa understands that he association is faced with new challenges such as changes in jobs, publication formats, new media, the muzzling of scientists and more.
