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Thank you to our 2023 volunteer mentors and editors for the Perlman Virtual Mentoring Program!

The 2023 NASW Perlman Virtual Mentoring Program would not have been possible without the scores of volunteers who served as mentors and editors. These mentors willingly gave of their time, expertise and energy, working with students throughout this summer, from pitch to publication. The long list that follows is a testament to the goodwill and generosity of the following NASW members:

2023 Perlman Program Organizers

  • Program Coordinator: Courtney Gorman*, Texas A&M University
  • Perlman Summer Writing Awards Coordinator: Deanna Csomo Ferrell, Notre Dame
  • NASW Education Committee Co-Chairs: Czerne Reid, University of Florida; Ashley Yeager, Science News

2023 Perlman Program Mentors and Editors

  • Alex Ip, The Xylom
  • Alex Witze, Freelance
  • Amber Dance, Freelance
  • Ann Davis, Freelance
  • Ariana Remmel, Chemical & Engineering News
  • Barbara Gastel, Texas A&M University
  • Bethany Brookshire, Freelance
  • Betsy Ladyzhets, Freelance
  • Cameron Walker, Freelance
  • Carmen Drahl, Freelance
  • Christina Nunez, Freelance
  • David Ehrenstein, American Physical Society
  • Eli Kintisch, Scripps News
  • Elizabeth Preston, Freelance
  • Elizabeth Whittington, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
  • Elliot Richman, Freelance
  • Emily Caldwell, Ohio State University
  • Emily Willingham, Freelance
  • Eric Bender, Freelance
  • Erika Carlson, American Physical Society
  • Erin Ross, Freelance
  • Esther Landhuis, Freelance
  • Haley Wasserman, Johns Hopkins Medicine
  • Jan Greene, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
  • Jennifer Carr, Psychiatric News
  • Jill Sakai, Science News Explores
  • Josh Baxt, Freelance
  • Julia Ostmann, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard / Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH)
  • Katherine Kornei, Freelance
  • Kathiann Kowalski, Freelance
  • Kendra Redmond, Freelance
  • Laura Dattaro, Spectrum/Simons Foundation
  • LaVonne Roberts, Freelance
  • Lesley Evans Ogden, Freelance
  • Lindsay Key, Virginia Tech
  • Maddie Bender, Freelance
  • Madeline Bodin, Freelance
  • Mark Roth, Freelance
  • Mark Schwartz, Olmec Media
  • Massie Ballon, DOE Joint Genome Institute/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • Matthew Hutson, Freelance
  • Maureen O’Hagan, Freelance
  • Melissa Blouin, Freelance
  • Mellissae Stuart, American Chemical Society
  • Michael Newman, Johns Hopkins Medicine
  • Molly Sharlach, Princeton
  • Monica Young, Sky & Telescope
  • Monya Baker, ISSUES Magazine
  • Natasha Vizcarra, Freelance
  • Neha Pancholi, American Association for Cancer Research
  • Ranjini Raghunath, Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
  • Robin Marantz Henig, Freelance
  • Saima Sidik, Freelance
  • Sara Shoemaker, DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Sarah Webb, Krell Institute
  • Sarah White, San Diego State University
  • Shannon Bohle, Freelance
  • Sharon Friedman, Lehigh University (Retired)
  • Shaun Kirby, University of Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR
  • Shel Evergreen*, Freelance
  • Stephanie DeMarco, Drug Discovery News
  • Steven Benowitz, NCATS/NIH
  • Tom Abate, Freelance
  • Virginia Gewin, Freelance

*Perlman Program student alumni


The NASW Perlman Virtual Mentoring Program is named for longtime science writer and past NASW President David Perlman. Dave, who died in 2020 at the age of 101 only three years after his retirement from the San Francisco Chronicle, was a mentor to countless members of the science writing community and always made time for kind and supportive words, especially for early career writers.

The Perlman Mentoring Program is an initiative of the NASW Education Committee. Follow #SciWriStudent on social media to join the conversation.

Founded in 1934 with a mission to fight for the free flow of science news, NASW is an organization of ~ 2,500 professional journalists, authors, editors, producers, public information officers, students and people who write and produce material intended to inform the public about science, health, engineering, and technology. To learn more, visit www.nasw.org

August 15, 2023