- This event has passed.
About Us: Lived Experience and Science Writing
July 12, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
On Wednesday, July 12th from 7:00 – 8:00 pm ET, join the DC Science Writers Association (DCSWA) for a virtual conversation with talented writers and content creators covering subjects with which they have lived experience. Panelists will discuss how intimate knowledge has enriched their coverage of scientific subjects — from indigenous environmental science and COVID to medical racism and chemistry — and how covering such topics can impact their lives. This virtual event is free and open to the public.
Featuring:
– Brian Bull, KLCC
– Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times
– Kat Stafford, Associated Press
– Ariana Remmel, Chemical & Engineering News
Panel moderated by DCSWA member Judith Lavelle.
Register for the event on Zoom HERE.
Ariana Remmel is a science journalist, audio producer, and essayist based in Little Rock, Arkansas. They use basic science as a way to express and explore their identity, as they did in an essay featured on NPR Short Wave in which they used the organic chemistry concept of resonance to relate to their non-binary and mutli-racial identities. Ari is currently an assistant editor on the physical sciences desk at Chemical & Engineering News, where they are also the interim co-editor for C&EN’s Stereo Chemistry podcast. Ari’s work has also appeared in Nature, Science News, and BirdNote.
Kat Stafford is a national investigative writer and global investigations correspondent, focused on race and inequity, at The Associated Press. She investigates how structural racism has fueled inequity in America–including a recent series on the sweeping health disparities among Black Americans across the lifespan. She describes her journalism journey beginning when she was a child growing up on Detroit’s east side. Her father was the neighborhood block club association president and the family put together a monthly community newsletter full of news that residents felt went uncovered by local media. It was her first exposure to community-driven journalism, laying the foundation for her career where she works to highlight under-resourced and ignored Black and other communities of color that largely remain undercovered.
Apoorva Mandavilli is a science and global health reporter for The New York Times. She writes mainly about infectious diseases like Covid-19 and mpox, and scourges like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis that remain big killers in parts of the world. Her reporting explores the pathogens that cause these diseases, the tools to try and stop their spread, and the public health agencies that try to manage them. Apoorva’s April 2022 piece on experiencing Covid-19 first-hand after reporting on the disease for two years likely mirrors the experience of many DCSWA members and is an example of coming forward to readers about one’s lived experiences in health and medicine.
Brian Bull works as a reporter and news director for NPR affiliate KLCC in Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Nez Perce Tribe, Brian blogged about incorporating a meaningful indigenous perspective in environmental reporting for the Society for Environmental Journalists. He’s covered stories on Indigenous environmental practices, disproportionate suicide rates on the Menominee Indian reservation, and other related topics. Brian has had his work featured on NPR, Marketplace, National Native News, Underscore News, The Oregonian and Indian Country Today.
Judith Lavelle is a science writer and DCSWA member who writes about substance use research for the National Institutes of Health. She has produced content for the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Chemical & Engineering News, The Boston Globe, Scientific American Online, 90.9 WBUR (Boston’s NPR News Station), and the walls of Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum.