Ann Reid
"Ann Reid has been a researcher, a policy wonk, and a program manager. In January, she will put on a new hat — as first responder to attacks on science education," reported Science Insider (November 20, 2013), taking notice of NCSE's announcement of Reid's appointment as its new executive director, succeeding Eugenie C. Scott. The article reviewed Reid's circuitous route to NCSE, described as "a powerful defender of the teaching of evolution and climate change in U.S. public schools."
"I see our role as doing everything we can to help science teachers teach good science," Reid was quoted as saying about NCSE. "Evolution and climate change are two topics in which they might find it difficult to do so, because of outside pressure from parents and some local officials. So our job is to help them make sure that doesn't happen, by giving them the tools they need to fight back." Quoting NCSE's Scott, she added, "We don't put out the fire. But we pass out the fire extinguishers."
Bonnie Bassler, the Squib Professor in Molecular Biology at Princeton University and the chair of the board of governors for the American Academy of Microbiology, of which Reid is presently the director, predicted success for Reid in her new position. "Ann is an expert at navigating the science-policy-society interface," she said. "Plus, she has a knack for making complicated subjects understandable to broad audiences. She will bring rigor and a passion for science to her new role at NCSE."