Nahima Ahmed is Science Friday’s Manager of Impact Strategy. She is a researcher who loves to cook curry, discuss identity, and helps the team understand how stories can shape audiences’ access to and interest in science.

As Science Friday’s director, Charles Bergquist channels the chaos of a live production studio into something sounding like a radio program. Favorite topics include planetary sciences, chemistry, materials, and shiny things with blinking lights.

Shoshannah Buxbaum is a producer for Science Friday. She’s particularly drawn to stories about health, psychology, and the environment. She’s a proud New Jersey native and will happily share her opinions on why the state is deserving of a little more love.

Wendy Coonrod is Science Friday’s Stewardship Manager, and oversees donor stewardship, legacy giving, and major gifts. She enjoys spending time outdoors, gardening, and taking care of her pony.

Danielle Dana is Science Friday’s executive director (a.k.a. scary boss). She’s also a huge Mets fan and Giants fan. She hates zucchini, unless it’s zucchini bread.

John Dankosky works with the radio team to create our weekly show, and is helping to build our State of Science Reporting Network. He’s also been a long-time guest host on Science Friday. He and his wife have four cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut. 

Kathleen Davis is a producer at Science Friday, which means she spends the week brainstorming, researching, and writing, typically in that order. She’s a big fan of stories related to strange animal facts and dystopian technology.

Elah Feder is a senior producer for podcasts at Science Friday. She produces the Science Diction podcast, and co-hosted and produced the Undiscovered podcast.

Jennifer Fenwick is the director of institutional giving at Science Friday. She enjoys creating new recipes and gardening anywhere she can find a patch of dirt.

Ira Flatow is the host and executive producer of Science Friday. His green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.

Xochitl Garcia is Science Friday’s K-12 education program manager. She is a former teacher who spends her time cooking, playing board games, and designing science investigations from odds and ends she’s stockpiled in the office (an in various drawers at home).

Luke Groskin is Science Friday’s video producer. He’s on a mission to make you love spiders and other odd creatures.

Johanna Mayer is a podcast producer and hosts Science Diction from Science Friday. When she’s not working, she’s probably baking a fruit pie. Cherry’s her specialty, but she whips up a mean rhubarb streusel as well.

Valissa Mayers is Science Friday’s office manager. She will happily tell you she’s a foodie, a feter, and a Converse Chuck Taylors collector.

Diana Montano is the Outreach Manager at Science Friday, where she creates live events and partnerships to delight and engage audiences in the world of science.

Annie Nero is Science Friday’s individual giving manager. She enjoys listening to music through giant headphones.

Nadja Oertelt is Science Friday’s Chief Content Officer. She once worked like a neuroscientist, dug like an archaeologist, and shot like a documentary filmmaker. And she’s always loved to commute by bicycle.

Daniel Peterschmidt is a digital producer and composes music for Science Friday’s podcasts, including Science Diction and Undiscovered. Their D&D character is a clumsy bard named Chip Chap Chopman.

Beth Ramme is Science Friday’s Controller and handles all things financial for the organization. She is passionate about supporting families of children and adolescents who live with serious mental health conditions.

Christie Taylor is a producer for Science Friday. Her day involves diligent research, too many phone calls for an introvert, and asking scientists if they have any audio of that narwhal heartbeat.

Kyle Marian Viterbo is an engagement producer at Science Friday. She loves sharing hilarious stories about human evolution, hidden museum collections, and the many ways Indiana Jones is a terrible archaeologist.

Lauren J. Young is Science Friday’s digital producer. When she’s not shelving books as a library assistant, she’s adding to her impressive Pez dispenser collection.

Ariel Zych is Science Friday’s education director. She is a former teacher and scientist who spends her free time making food, watching arthropods, and being outside.

Ira Flatow is the host and executive producer of Science Friday. His green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.

James M. Gentile is the Dean for the Natural and Applied Sciences at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He has been, or continues as, a consultant to numerous national and international public and private colleges, universities, foundations and corporations.

Julie LaNasa, in addition to launching her own firm, Collaborative Consulting, is currently a trustee with The Leakey Foundation. She and her husband, John Kunzweiler, live in Tiburon, California.

Chris Lee is the Chairman and CEO of Huxley Medical and a serial MedTech entrepreneur. He volunteers on several boards to promote STEM education, translational research, and social impact. He is a first generation Chinese American, enjoys skiing and cooking, and lives in Atlanta.

Jorge Leis is an advisory partner at Bain & Company, where he has served in multiple roles and offices for 30 years. He is also a board member with the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation and the National GEM Consortium. He and his wife, Ann, live in Houston, Texas and have three children and one grandchild.

Jennifer Rollins practices in the areas of nonprofits, business, real estate, and finance. She is also a member of the Oregon State Bar and the Multnomah County Bar Association. She lives in Portland, OR.

Mary Smart has been on the Science Friday Board since 2004. She is also a board member with the Buehler Center on Aging at Northwestern University, the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, and the National Forest Foundation.

Camilla Smith serves on several national and community boards including the National Public Radio Foundation, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She and her husband, George Smith, have five children and eight grandchildren.

Thea True-Wells is a Wyoming native who has been professionally involved with formal and informal pre-K-12 education for over two decades. She has facilitated science outreach efforts to low-income elementary schools and taught both middle and high school science courses in public and private schools.

Dave Vernier founded Vernier Software & Technology in the early days of microcomputers, when he was a high-school physics teacher. He is still active with programming and developing science lessons. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and business partner, Christine.