Ann Reid
NCSE is pleased to announce that Ann Reid will be the new executive director of NCSE. Reid succeeds Eugenie C. Scott, who served as executive director for twenty-seven years, 1986 to 2013.
Like NCSE itself, Reid combines scientific excellence with communications expertise. For fifteen years she worked as a research biologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, where she was responsible for sequencing the 1918 influenza virus. She then served as a Senior Program Officer at the National Research Council’s Board on Life Sciences for five years and then, most recently, as director of the American Academy of Microbiology. In both roles she oversaw major efforts aimed at communicating science to the public.
Now Reid is bringing her talents to NCSE, to lead the organization as it continues its work in defending the integrity of science education, especially with regard to evolution and climate science. "It is crucial, now more than ever, for students to understand evolution and climate science," Reid commented in a November 18, 2013, press release from NCSE. "I am excited at the prospect of helping NCSE to continue its important work in ensuring that these topics are taught properly — accurately, thoroughly, and without ideological interference."
Scott expressed her pleasure with the choice of Reid as the new executive director of NCSE. "Her stint as a research scientist grounds her in what science is and what scientists do. Her work at the National Research Council connected her with the top scientists in the country. And her experience as the director of a non-profit organization provides her with invaluable knowhow." She added, "I have no doubt that attacks on science education will continue. But with Reid at the helm, I have no doubt that NCSE will continue to be at the forefront of the defense."
When Reid begins as executive director, Scott will become Chair of NCSE's Advisory Council, a group of eminent scientists and scholars who support NCSE's activities.