NCSE bids farewell to Emily Schoerning, who joined NCSE as its first Director of Community Organizing and Research in 2015. A microbiologist by training, Schoerning brought to NCSE a passion for science education and outreach that she found while a post-doctoral researcher. Particularly noteworthy was her development and supervision of NCSE's Science Booster Club program, aimed at rallying communities to support local science education. Initially piloted with a single club in Iowa City in 2015, the program now includes clubs in a dozen states, which have together reached almost 200,000 people at community events. As her title suggested, Schoerning was also involved in acquiring and analyzing data on the program's efficacy. The first article based on her research on the project's impact is forthcoming in the Journal of Science Communication. In 2017, she was elected as the Research Division Director of the National Science Teachers Association. All of us at NCSE wish her the best in her new endeavors.
June 1, 2018