Professional Development Day 2022 (In-Person + Virtual)

Professional Development Day, a career development event for science writers, has been DCSWA’s signature event since 2006. Every year, between 100 and 150 science reporters, PIOs, editors, radio and video producers, and freelancers gather for a fun and exciting day of networking and skill-building! 

After two years of being completely virtual, this year’s Professional Development Day will be in-person on Saturday, July 23 at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health with livestreaming. The half-day event will include panel sessions, a plenary talk, a pitch slam, and happy hour at a nearby bar. Register here.

To mitigate the still very real risks of COVID, the event will require mandatory vaccinations and mask-wearing for participants. Please bring a photo of your vaccine card that we will check at the door. We are also making refunds easy if anyone needs to cancel because of illness or perceived risk to try and keep our community safe. 

We are excited for our slate of programming and hope to see you in one month!

Sincerely,

Richard and the DCSWA board

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Details:

When: Saturday, July 23, 2022, 11 am – 5:15 pm. Registration begins at 11 am. The formal program begins at 12 pm.

Where: 

The George Washington University

Milken Institute School of Public Health

950 New Hampshire Avenue NW., Washington DC 20052

Happy hour will begin at 5:30 pm at location TBD 

Cost: $40 for DCSWA members; $65 for non-members. Financial hardship rate available—please email president@dcswa.org. The cost will be the same for in-person and virtual attendance due to the technical setup required for livestreaming.

Get social: Follow us on Twitter @DCSWA with #DCSWA22

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Agenda at a glance

11:00am – 12:00pm	Registration/Set-up
12:00 – 12:30 pm	Opening remarks and Newsbrief Award presentations
12:30 – 1:30 pm	Plenary session Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, “We are not in this together: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latino communities”(Auditorium)
1:45 – 2:45 pm	Science podcasting: From idea to episode (Convening Center Room A/B)	PR and PIO relationships with journalists (Convening Center Room C/D)
3:00 – 4:00 pm	Creating science videos for different audiences (Convening Center Room A/B)	Making threads work for your organization’s Twitter accounts (Convening Center Room C/D)
4:15 -5:15 pm	Pitch slam (BrainFacts; C&E News; Eos; Nature; Photonics Focus; Science; Science News; Scientific American) (Convening Center Room A/B)	How science communicators can deal with hate and harassment (Convening Center Room C/D)
5:30 – 7:30 pm	Happy hour (off campus, tentatively outdoor at Tonic at Quigley’s)

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Detailed session descriptions

Welcome and 2021 Newsbrief Awards Presentation

12:00 – 12:30 pm, Auditorium

DCSWA President Richard Sima will deliver a brief “State of the DCSWA” address. The winners of the 2021 Newsbrief Awards will also be announced by DCSWA Vice President Sam Jones.

Plenary session: “We are not in this together: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latino communities”

12:30 – 1:30 pm, Auditorium

Speaker: 

Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, PhD, MPHE, MCHES 

Associate Professor and Vice-Chair GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health

Description: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the root causes of inequities and disparities in the United States. We are not all equal and we have not experienced the pandemic in the same way. During his presentation, Dr. Rodriguez-Diaz will describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latino communities and the lessons learned that can help us be ready for future public health emergencies.

Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, an associate professor of prevention and community health, is a native of Puerto Rico and a bicultural researcher who regularly conducts research on health disparities in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Region.

A study he published in July 2020 found that factors linked to structural racism put Latino communities in the United States at risk for COVID-19. That study was the first nationwide analysis of COVID-19 cases and deaths among Latinos.

Rodriguez-Diaz and his colleagues found that crowded housing, air pollution, jobs in the meatpacking industry and other factors put Latinos at very high risk of contracting COVID-19.

He has also been involved in the creation of a new research center at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, one that will focus on addressing health disparities and improving health in the Caribbean and Latin American region.

Moderator:

Richard Sima, Freelance

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Science podcasting: From idea to episode

How do you develop an idea—or kernel of an idea—into a podcast episode or entire series? This panel is all about the creative process behind podcast development.

Panelists:

Thomas Lu (Short Wave)

Jacob Pinter (Overheard at National Geographic)

Jennifer Weingart (AirSpace podcast from the National Air and Space Museum)

Maryam Zaringhalam (Story Collider)

Moderator:

Sam Jones, American Chemical Society

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PR and PIO relationships with journalists

What use is a PR professional/PIO to a journalist? This panel will feature perspectives from both sides of the PR/journalist relationship to demonstrate how they can foster mutually-beneficial relationships

Panelists

Tina Saey (Science News)

Stefaine Tuck (JPA Health)

Tori Fosheim (SciLine)

Aaron Cohen (Aaron Cohen PR)

Moderator:

Ben Marcus, CG Life

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Creating science videos for different audiences

This panel will focus on the key elements to making a great science video, and how those elements change depending on audience and content (i.e. a science news video versus a deep dive into a field of science or scientists). We’ll also hear about what they’ve seen work and fail during video production, hear the logistics of how they approach a new project, and get their thoughts on the future of science video. 

Panelists:

Meagan Cantwell (Science)

Rubén Rodríguez Pérez (National Geographic)

Elaine Seward (PBS and the American Chemical Society)

Moderator:

Sam Jones, American Chemical Society

Bruce Lee, Forbes

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Making threads work for your organization’s Twitter accounts

Twitter threads—a string of multiple connected tweets–enable rich storytelling. It’s one thing to craft tweets for your own account, but it’s another to write for an official account of your media outlet or institution, or for the account of a person who leads your organization. Join our panelists as they walk through successful threads and talk about what works and what does not.

Panelists:

Riley A. Wilson (National Institute of Standards and Technology) (@NIST)

Dorea Reeser (Chemical & Engineering News)(@cenmag)

Jennifer Dorsey (National Cancer Institute) (@theNCI)

Igor Ristić (National Cancer Institute) (@NCIDirector)

Moderator:

Carmen Drahl, Freelance

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How Science Communicators Can Deal with Hate and Harassment

Over the past few years, online attacks and threats have become commonplace against science journalists and communicators for simply doing their jobs. What are the context and consequences of hate and harassment for our profession? What has been done and what can be done to stop it? This panel discussion will cover the current research on violence against the press, lay out its effects, and discuss what solutions there may be. 

Panelists:

Rebekah Tromble (GWU)

Silvio R. Waisbord (GWU)

Lisa Palmer (GWU)

Bruce Lee (Forbes)

Moderator:

Richard Sima, Freelance

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Pitch Slam

Attendees will sign up at registration for 3-minute sessions with editors to pitch their story ideas in a speed-dating format.

Editors:

BrainFacts: Lisa Chiu

C&E News: Manny Morone

EOS: Heather Goss

Nature: Lauren Wolf

Photonics Focus: Bill Schulz

Science: Jeff Brainard

Science News: Macon Morehouse

Scientific American: Josh Fischman

Moderator:

Michael Newman, Johns Hopkins Medicine 

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Support a science writer

If you’re interested in making a donation to the Professional Development Day scholarship fund to help a student, early-career or other science communicators with financial need take advantage of one of science writing’s top professional development opportunities, you can donate on this page or email president@dcswa.org for more information.