Kathryn O'Hara
President

Kathryn O’Hara is a broadcast journalist and journalism educator. She holds the CTV Chair in Science Broadcast Journalism in Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication which she joined in 2001.

She started her career as a researcher for CBC radio in Montreal in 1977 and soon became a current affairs radio producer in Montreal and Edmonton. Her first freelance story as a writer-broadcaster was on Acid Rain in 1978. In the eighties, she worked as a local consumer reporter for CTV in Montreal and the national consumer columnist with CBC TV in Ottawa where she also co-anchored the evening news. After hosting the CBC’s afternoon drive show in Toronto for six years, she went back to school to earn an MSc in Science Communication in 1998.

In the past decade, O’Hara served on science advisory boards, journalism scholarship and awards committees, boards of directors and research initiatives including the Council of Canadian Academies’ Expert Panel on Research Integrity.

She wrote the 2009 Mentoring Guide for Science Journalists for the World Federation of Science Journalists and contributed articles on environment and health to the Literary Review of Canada.

Peter McMahon
Vice-President

Regarded as a Canadian Internet pioneer when it comes to popularizing science, Peter McMahon is an award-winning online science journalist who has worked for CTV.ca and served for eight years as an online producer and senior online producer for Discovery Channel Canada.

In 2007 and 2008, Peter hosted, edited, and produced the first TV-quality live science specials on the Internet, from the discovery of a new specimen of tyranosaur in the Alberta Badlands to a generation-3 night-vision webcast of the Perseid meteor shower.

An avid backyard astronomer, Peter writes, produces, and speaks on topics from wilderness stargazing, to do-it-yourself science, to the most efficient use of social media for science promotion in Canada.

He has put his leadership and project management skills and insights to use both in the newsroom at Discovery, starting NoticeMyScience.com (a new joint business venture), and in helping organize the past five CSWA Annual Conferences.

Since 2003, he has been the editor of the CSWA's quarterly journal, Science Link.

Peter's first installment in a series of science experiment books published by Kids Can Press is due to hit bookshelves in Fall 2010.

Kathryn Warden
Vice-President, Research Communications

Kathryn is the Director of Research Communications for the University of Saskatchewan. Reporting to the Vice-President Research, she leads an office that is responsible for building profile for U of S research, scholarly and artistic work which involves production of a research magazine, videos, and student research feature story series in partnership with The Star Phoenix.

She has 25 years of journalism experience, having held a variety of posts at the Calgary Herald, Toronto Star and The Star Phoenix, including reporter, columnist and editorial writer. In 1982-83, she attended the University of Toronto on a Southam Fellowship.

She has been the recipient of awards in journalism and communications and serves as an adjudicator for numerous competitions. Keenly interested in science communication, she has mentors student writers through the U of S SPARK (Students Promoting Awareness of Research Knowledge) Program.

Tim Lougheed
Past-President

A writer and editor specializing in science, technology, medicine and education, Tim's work has appeared in a number of Canadian newspapers and magazines, including Arthritis News, Canadian Consumer, Canadian Geographic, Family Practice, Equinox, The Financial Times of Canada, Laboratory Focus, The Medical Post, Ottawa Business Quarterly, the Ottawa Citizen, and University Affairs.

Currently Past President of the Canadian Science Writers' Association, he has worked with communications staff and researchers on projects at Queen's University, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, as well as various government agencies and private organizations.

A former general assignment reporter for the Sault Star and the Windsor Star, he has been freelancing full-time in the Ottawa area since 1991.

Peter Calamai
Board Member

After 15 years as a staff science reporter for Canadian daily newspapers (most recently as science reporter for the Toronto Star) Peter Calamai now freelances science articles to magazines and newspapers at home and abroad.

A contributing editor of Australia's Cosmos magazine, Calamai is a member of the steering committee of the Science Media Centre of Canada.

A founding member of the Canadian Science Writers' Association, he is also is a three-times winner of  Canada's highest journalistic honour, the National Newspaper Award, and an adjunct research professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Calamai graduated with a B.Sc. in Physics from McMaster University in 1965 and worked as a correspondent and editor with the Southam company for 30 years, with postings to Ottawa, London (U.K.), Nairobi and Washington.

His quasi-scientific pursuits include conchology with specialization in the cowry (Cyprae), ornithology, astronomy and the genetic engineering of tomatoes.

Amber Church
Board Member

Amber is a Climate Change Action Facilitator for the BC Ministry of the Environment and a M.Sc. student in Earth Science at Simon Fraser University.

She studies glacier retreat and natural hazards in the Yukon. She founded and co-chaired the International Polar Year Youth Steering Committee (now the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists – APECS).

Amber’s passion is climate change. She was part of the official youth delegation to the UN Climate Change Meetings and was one of 200 Canadians selected by the Climate Project Canada to be trained by Al Gore to present an updated version of the award-winning Inconvenient Truth slideshow.

She travelled to Antarctica in 2006 and the Arctic in August 2008 with Students on Ice as part of their education staff. She is currently working with SFU’s Adaptation to Climate Change Team.

She and her husband, Tyler Kuhn, currently split their time between Whitehorse, Yukon and Vancouver, British Columbia, while they try to pool enough financial resources for their next adventure.

Claire began writing about science over 30 years ago in Saskatoon, where she wrote, voiced, and produced a weekly science column for CBC Radio for more than two years.

She has written about many aspects of science for magazines, newspapers, radio, and an assortment of newsletters, both from Saskatoon and, since 1984, from the Yukon.

Currently, she writes science books for kids, contributes stories to kids' science magazines, and shares writing duties for a long-running column about Yuikon science, which appears in the Yukon News and on the Internet.

She has been a member of the Canadian Science Writers' Association, off and on, since the 1980s. In 2008, she was one of the local organizers of the CSWA national conference in Whitehorse.

Hannah Hoag
Board Member

Hannah is a freelance journalist who writes about science, the environment and medicine. Her articles have appeared in Nature, Discover, New Scientist, Seed, National Geographic News, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the Literary Review of Canada.

In 2005, she was a fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory's Arctic ecosystem program. She holds graduate degrees in biology and in science and medical journalism.

Hannah once did research on rare genetic diseases. She has hitchhiked through parts of Africa, trekked on Baffin Island and coached rowing.

She was a medical writer at a healthcare communications company and publications editor at the McGill University Health Centre.

This year she will mentor students participating in the McGill University the WARM-SPARK program. Hannah has been a member of the CSWA since 2003.

She is also a member of the National Association of Science Writers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Bob McDonald
Board Member

Bob McDonald has been communicating science internationally through television, radio, print and live presentations for more than 30 years. He is the host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks, the award-winning science program with a national audience of nearly 500,000 people. He is also a regular reporter for CBC Television’s The National as well as Gemini winning host and writer of the children’s series Head’s Up. Bob has also hosted Greatest Canadian Invention and the seven part series Water Under Fire.

As a print journalist, McDonald has authored three science books and contributed to numerous science textbooks, newspapers and magazines including The Globe and Mail, Owl Magazine and many others. His latest book is Measuring the Earth With a Stick. He wrote the introduction to The Quirks & Quarks Question book and the Guide to Space: 42 Questions (and Answers) About Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Beyond his work in media, Bob sits on several boards and is Chairman of Geospace, an exciting new environmental centre and planetarium for the Toronto Waterfront.

McDonald has been honoured for his outstanding contribution to the promotion of science in Canada as the recipient of the Michael Smith Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Sir Sanford Fleming Medal from the Royal Canadian Institute and the McNeil Medal from The Royal Society of Canada. McDonald was also the recipient of a 2008 Gemini Award for Best Host in a Pre-School, Children's or Youth Program or Series.

He has received four honourary Doctorates, from the University of Guelph, Carleton University, Laurentian University and McMaster University.

Margaret Munro
Board Member

Margaret reports on the latest scientific developments, and controversies, for Canwest News Service, which serves 11 newspapers across Canada, including the Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and Vancouver Sun.

Munro joined the Ottawa Citizen in 1978 and was soon making headlines with stories on genetic engineering and acid rain. She covered the launch of the first space shuttles and the demise of Canada’s nuclear reactor program before moving to Vancouver.

Munro spent a decade at the Vancouver Sun and five years at the National Post, before joining Canwest in 2003. Her recent reporting has taken her from Canada’s Prairies for stories on carbon sequestration to the Arctic to write about the ancient permafrost tumbling into the sea.

She has also taught science writing at the University of B.C.’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Munro’s honors includes four national writing awards from the Canadian Science Writers' Association, the 2003 Michener Fellowship for Public Service Journalism and the 2008 David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism from the American Geophysical Union. She has recently been received a 2009 media award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Natalie St-Denis
Board Member

Natalie is currently managing a large CIHR-funded study, Effects of Regular Exercise on Cereborvascular Reserve in Older Adults: Role in the Prevention of Age-Related Cognitive Decline, at the University of Calgary.

As a freelance science writer, Natalie focused on the political and social ramifications of environmental issues with a particular focus on water policies and research. She has also written extensively about Africa, and in 2008 the Canadian Community Newspaper Association awarded her with First Place for Best Feature Series for a five-part series she wrote on Africa for Fast Forward Weekly.

Natalie has a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Education and Women’s Studies (thesis focused on women in science) from the University of Ottawa. She volunteered for the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) organization for seven years and was the National President during in 1995-1996 and President of the Ottawa Chapter in 1999-2000.

Natalie’s articles have been published in Canadian Geographic, Canadian Geographic Travel, Canadian Environment Awards digest (CG), Alberta Views, Outpost, Reader’s Digest, Calgary Inc., Grandparent, Calgary Outdoors, Calgary Herald, Fast Forward, and The Edmonton Sun; and her photography in The New York Times, Maclean’s, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Geographic, Outpost, Fast Forward, and Calgary Outdoors.

Stephen Strauss
Board Member

Stephen wrote articles, columns and editorials about science and technology for the Globe and Mail for more than 20 years.

He has also authored three books, several book chapters, and for his efforts received numerous awards.

Through all his time in journalism, he still remains smitten by the enduring wisdom of the motto of Austrian writer Karl Kraus: Say what is.

(Excerpted from his bio on CBC.ca, where he has a regular column on Analysis & Viewpoint.)

Kathleen Thurber
Board Member

Kathleen is the Director of Communications and Education at the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR).

Two of her goals at the Foundation are to increase the opportunities for the accurate presentation of science to the media and to enhance understanding of the value of the scientific process and investment.

To do so, she has created and expanded several programs: a summer research experience for youth, a summer media experience for science students, and summer workshops for teachers to increase their comfort with the scientific process.

She has sat on the organizing committee for the Jasper 2005 CSWA conference, is involved in the writing component of the Banff Science Communications Program, and has previous board experience with a number of non-profit and education boards, including Edmonton Arts Council, Edmonton First Night Festival, and Talmud Torah School.

In 2007, she completed a Master's degree in creative non-fiction in English about the life and research of a female neuroscientist.

Kristina Bergen
Executive Director


Kristina has been described as a rascal, a swashbuckler, and an artist. She first tried her hand at science writing while finishing her University of Saskatchewan masters thesis on the stories of warrior women in ancient Iceland. While at the U of S, she also started a career in communications, working as a writer for the Office of the Vice President of Research.

She’s tended bar and managed a restaurant along the Dempster Highway in the Yukon, taught quilting and karate, delivered '‘extreme history' programming for kids, and started a second job as a videographer and producer for her own production company.

Kristina started as CSWA Administrative Director in October 2004, and enjoys getting to know members from coast to coast. Most recently, she spearheaded the 2009 CSWA Annual Conference in Sudbury, Ontario, and headed-up the organizing of the 2008 Conference, in Whitehorse, Yukon.