Continuing with the introductions… I got some nice positive feedback about this series – makes it easier for people to get to know everyone little by little instead of digging through the entire list of everyone who’s registered for the conference all at once.
Rebecca Skloot is an accomplished science writer, currently excited about the publication of her first book (to universal accolades) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. She is a SciBling, blogging here on Culture Dish and can be found on Twitter. The Keynote Speaker at last year’s conference, this time Rebecca will lead three sessions: “From Blog to Book: Using Blogs and Social Networks to Develop Your Professional Writing”, “Writing for more than glory: Proposals and Pitches that Pay” and “Getting the Science Right: The importance of fact checking mainstream science publications — an underappreciated and essential art — and the role scientists can and should (but often don’t) play in it.”
Jennifer Ouellette is a science writer who gave the Keynote Address two years ago, at our 2008 conference. She blogs on Cocktail Party Physics and Twisted Physics blogs. Jennifer published two popular science books, The Physics of the Buffyverse and Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics and is now the Director of Science & Entertainment Exchange. Read my interview with Jennifer from last year. At the Conference, Jennifer will co-moderate the session “Science and Entertainment: Beyond Blogging”.
Elsa Youngsteadt and I were in graduate school together, some years ago. Although not in the same department, we were both a part of the NCSU Keck Center for Behavioral Biology. Elsa is now a programs manager at Sigma Xi, a freelance writer and does weekly podcasts on World Science. She tweets both as herself and for the World Science. At the conference, Elsa will do a demo of PRI/BBC World-Science – combining radio, podcasts, the website and forums.
DeLene Beeland is a science and nature writer who recently moved into the Triangle area of North Carolina. She blogs on Science Muse and, as of recently, on Science In The Triangle blog. She tweets and she just signed a contract with UNC press for a book about wolf conservation and ecology.
Christine Ottery is a Science Journalism MA student at City University in London, UK. She tweets, she blogs on Open Minds and Parachutes and Wood and trees. She contributes to Guardian’s Comment Is Free and makes podcasts for Environment News and Commentary. At the conference, Christine will lead a session “How does a journalist figure out ‘which scientists to trust’?” which will also explore the reverse question: how does a scientist figure out which journalists to trust.
Vanessa Woods is an author and journalist from Australia who now resides here in Durham, NC and does research in primate behavior (and conservation) at Duke. Half of the year or so she spends in Congo (actually, in both Congos) studying and helping protect chimps and bonobos. She has written a number of books, including the absolutely amazing It’s every monkey for themselves. And she blogs from her field work..Check out her interview from last year.
Check out the rest of the Program so see who will be doing what come January.

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