President

Alex Witze

Alex is a freelance science writer and correspondent for Nature magazine, specializing in the earth and planetary sciences. She lives in Boulder County with her husband, astronomy writer Jeff Kanipe. Twitter: @alexwitze. 

Vice President 

Ula Chobrak

Ula is a freelance writer and editor based in Boulder. She primarily writes about climate change and environmental issues, including as a contributor for Popular Science. She's also a regular writer and copy editor for Climbing magazine. 

Secretary

Liz Kruesi

Liz Kruesi is a freelance science writer and editor of Mercury magazine, published by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. She studied physics and astrophysics, but quickly found herself leaving behind mathematical equations to instead obsess over the stories to bring the universe to more people. Her work has appeared in Quanta Magazine, National Geographic, Smithsonianmag.com, Discover, Symmetry, Popular Science, and other publications. Find her at lizkruesi.com.

Treasurer

Cathy Dold

Catherine Dold has been a freelance science writer for 20+ years, writing and editing for Sutter Health, BioPharma Dive, Stanford University, the American Society of Nephrology and other medical/science organizations. She has also written for the New York Times, Discover, Cosmopolitan and more. Catherine is co-author of The Recovery Book, which won an Outstanding Book Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. A resident of Boulder, Colorado, she has a master’s in science journalism from New York University (SHERP) and a bachelor’s in environmental biology from the University of Colorado. Reach her at  www.catherinedold.com or @catherinedold.

Co-Chair of Programming

Katie Harmon Courage

Katie is an independent journalist and author based out of Boulder County, Colorado. She primarily writes about health, biology, medicine, and social sciences. She's a contributor for Scientific American and Vox, and she also periodically write for NPR, The Washington Post and others. Her books include: Cultured (about the microbiome and foods around the world) and Octopus! (about everyone's favorite cephalopod). Twitter: @KHCourage. 

Co-Chair of Programming

Claire Cleveland

Claire Cleveland is a Colorado native who currently works for Colorado Public Radio focusing on health and the environment. She lives north of Denver with her husband, whose family runs a winery called Balistreri Vineyards. In her free time she does yoga, runs, helps with the family business and is always reading something. 

Social Media and Web manager

Karli Swenson

Karli is a Ph.D. student in the Integrative Physiology program at the University of Colorado | Anschutz Medical Campus studying craniofacial development. She's focusing on maternal and child health through the School of Public Health, and intends to combine the bench research experience with her public health training to educate others regarding maternal consumption of recreational and pharmaceutical drugs. She's based in Aurora, Colorado and is very excited to get involved in a science writing group both to build local connections and improve her ability to communicate her research. More on Instagram or Twitter @KarliSwenson or at https://karliswensonsci.wixsite.com/home 

Membership / Development 

Kristan Uhlenbrock

Kristan Uhlenbrock is a writer, communicator, scientist, and policy expert, having worked at the intersection of these for more than a decade. She is the Senior Policy Advisor at the Institute for Science & Policy, a project of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where her objective is to ensure science has a respected role in public discourse and policymaking. Her writing has appeared in National Wildlife Magazine, Rappahannock Review, Undark, among other outlets. She received a master's in science writing from Johns Hopkins University and a master's in oceanography from the University of South Florida. Twitter: @oceankris or www.kristanuhlenbrock.com 

At-large board member

Maris Fessenden

Maris is communications manager for Adventure Scientists, a conservation non-profit based in Bozeman, Montana, with 8+ years of experience writing about genetics, neurobiology, wildlife, and the intersection of science and art. They are also an illustrator. Their work has appeared in Nature, Scientific American, Spectrum News, Western Confluence and Smithsonian. Find them exploring the mountains: @marisfess (Twitter & Instagram).

At-large board member

Helen Santoro

Helen is a freelance science journalist based in Gunnison, Colorado. She covers a range of beats including health, biomedicine, wildlife, climate change and LGBTQ+ communities.