Alexandra Witze

President

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. 

Liz Kruesi

Secretary

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.

Catherine Dold

Treasurer

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.

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

Programming co-chair

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is the Science Communicator for JILA (a partnership between NIST and CU Boulder), a leading physics research institute. Her work has been published in Discover Magazine, the Debrief, Inside Quantum Technology, Hackernoon, the Quantum Insider, and many other places. She focuses on deep technology, specifically quantum technology, and DEI within these fields. 

Claire Cleveland

Vice-president

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. 

Karli Swenson

Social Media and Web manager

Karli is a Ph.D. / MPH candidate at the University of Colorado | Anschutz Medical Campus studying how drug consumption during pregnancy affects baby's brain development and behavior. She's based in Denver, 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 

Kristan Uhlenbrock

Membership / Development 

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, and 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 

Helen Santoro

Programming co-chair

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.

Maris Fessenden

At-large board member

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).