What Canadian Science Communicators Need to Know About the Changing US Science Landscape

What Canadian Science Communicators Need to Know About the Changing US Science Landscape

The scientific landscape in the United States is changing rapidly, with scientists facing uncertainty due to targeted funding cuts, policy changes, immigration uncertainty, and more. The implications of the situation go beyond US borders, affecting the everyday work of Canadian science communicators. In this one-hour webinar, three expert panelists will help participants make sense of what's currently happening in US science and explore what actions we can take as science communicators to support both science and democracy at this critical point in time.

Bring your questions for the panelists, and don't miss this timely and dynamic discussion!

Date: Thursday, May 8  from 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET / 2:00 - 3:00 pm PT via Zoom

SWCC Host: Kristina Campbell, freelance writer, SWCC committee member

Moderator: Vanessa Nelson, BioCanRx, SWCC Board Member

Panelists

Ian Hanington, David Suzuki Foundation

Ian Hanington is senior editor and writer at the David Suzuki Foundation, where he co-writes the weekly syndicated Science Matters column with David Suzuki. He is also co-author with David Suzuki of Just Cool It!: The Climate Crisis and What We Can Do and Everything Under the Sun: Toward a Brighter Future on a Small Blue Planet. He is a former editor of Vancouver’s Georgia Straight newsweekly and has worked as a journalist at a number of publications.

JP Flores, UNC Chapel Hill & Stand Up For Science

JP Flores, BA is a PhD Candidate in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology at UNC Chapel Hill, where he is studying the role of 3D chromatin structure in response to environmental stress and pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good. He is the host of the From where does it STEM? podcast, senior editor for GeneBites, and recently completed a 6-month internship in the NIH Office of Science Policy in the NIH Office of the Director. He was one of the 5 co-lead organizers for the Stand Up for Science Movement. He is an HHMI Gilliam Fellow passionate about bridging science and society and empowering others, especially those from minoritized and marginalized backgrounds.

Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, University of Waterloo

Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher is an associate professor in the Department of English Language & Literature and Canada Research Chair in Science, Health, and Technology Communication at the University of Waterloo. She is also the Director and Principal Investigator of the Demos Labs, and the Inaugural Co-Director for the University of Waterloo's TRuST network. An scholar of rhetorical theory and the nature of expertise, she's the author of On Expertise: Cultivating Character, Goodwill, and Practical Wisdom (Penn State UP, 2022), Science Communication Online (The Ohio State UP, 2019), and the co-editor, with Carolyn R. Miller, of Emerging Genres in New Media Environments (Palgrave, 2017).