Executive Board

Dr. Allison Coffin is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Washington State University Vancouver, where she studies acoustic communication and hearing loss. She has more than 15 years of experience teaching communication workshops to a variety of scientific and professional audiences and is a long-time member of Toastmasters International. When she’s not working too hard she enjoys motorcycling, live music, reading (urban fantasy rocks!), and snuggling her cats. (president@sciencetalk.org)

Kirsten Sanford, Ph.D., is owner of Broader Impacts Productions. Dr. “Kiki” is a freelance science presenter and reporter who loves media. She studied molecular, cellular, and integrative physiology and has over 10 years experience producing and hosting radio and television programming with companies such as PLoSOne, WNBC, and The Science Channel/Discovery Communications. She currently hosts the “This Week in Science” podcast.

Colin Coleman is a recovering academic sharing his love of science with others in a myriad of ways including trivia shows, movie parodies, and stand-up comedy. Colin graduated from Oregon Health & Science University in 2022 with a MS degree in Cell Biology; he claims it’s the most intimate subject because it’s a way for big bunches of cells to really understand themselves on a fundamental level. Outside of ASC, Colin can be found cooking, gardening, or hosting a board game night with friends (a way of justifying his collection of over 100 games)

Bre Kelsey, P.S.M. was trained in molecular biology but is an event planner at heart. By day she works at her county health department investigating and providing education on foodborne and enteric pathogens. She’s been an informal STEAM educator at science centers and festivals, most recently the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, and lives in the public engagement, outreach, and science event space.

Sky is the owner and CEO of Clever Girl Visual A.I.D. She earned her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and began a career in graphic design that spanned editorials, books, and scientific exhibit design. She has managed the marketing for nonprofits of various sizes and co-founded Science On Tap SLC, which became S.T.E.A.Mpunk Academy, as the Chief Creative Officer. She became the webmaster for the Association of Science Communicators in June 2022 and is excited to bring her certificate of non-profit marketing to her new role as Marketing and Communicators Director.

Tamara Poles is the Director of Program at Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. She is also Founder and CEO of SciCom Consulting LLC. She has over 10 years of science communication training and curriculum development experience. Tamara was responsible for the first state-wide science communication training program in North Carolina called, IMPACTS, based out of the University of North Carolina’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, where she trained over 500 scientists and served over 47,000 community members and students with scientist-led programs in four years. She also serves on the Artistic Advisory Board for The Story Collider.

Justice Morath isn’t a ranger, but he played one once. He’s an Associate Professor of Psychology at Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, Utah. His love for SciComm has taken him to teach as far outside the Ivory Tower as possible, such as in prisons and homeless shelters. He also was the cofounder of a successful local Science On Tap series along with being an inaugural winner of the #SciCommMake awards. He also is a strong supporter of making college more affordable through Open Access textbooks and is currently writing his own.

Andy Freeberg is Head of Communications at Zap Energy, a company developing fusion energy technology. Prior to Zap he worked in science communications at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Stanford/DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Washington’s College of Engineering and the UW/DOE’s Pacific Marine Energy Center. Born and raised in Minnesota, he earned an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Radio/Television/Film from Northwestern University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Science and Natural History Filmmaking from Montana State University-Bozeman.