I work with an express goal of expanding access to and participation in science through enhancing people’s ability to share science inclusively and effectively.
Specifically, I aim to:
- increase appreciation for the discipline of science communication and engagement;
- expand awareness and utilization of the science of science communication; and
- enhance broader impacts efforts (specifically arts and humanities integrations with science), through the application of best practices in related disciplines.
Scheduled Programs
- SciComm STEP: Sparking Transitions for Experienced Professionals – a Meteor collaboration (Cohort 1 runs in fall 2022, funded by the National Association of Science Writers)
- Grad Learning Community: Scholarly Writing Principles – a WySCI – Communication Across the Curriculum – LeaRN collaboration. Annual cohort runs in each fall.
- Grad Learning Community: Scholarly Writing Practices – a WySCI – Communication Across the Curriculum – LeaRN collaboration. Annual cohort runs each spring.
Coaching
For grant-funded collaborations, I offer customized coaching and instruction so that collaborators can increase their own capacity to engage diverse audiences and stakeholders. Coaching topics include:
- Communication and engagement skill development for diverse or focused audiences, including connecting with the media, visualization/image development, and more
- Public speaking and presentation/poster design for conferences, public meetings, and other academic or public situations
- Broader Impacts proposal development, including educational program/curriculum development and educational program delivery
- Instruction and presentations as outlined in the next section
Instruction & Presentations
I lead engaging and interactive courses, workshops, and presentations for audiences of all ages (specialized and general). I specialize in inclusive scicomm, art-science synergy, integration of art and science in education and broader impacts efforts, local/urban natural history, and everyday sustainability.
Contact me to discuss how we can work a professional development training or presentation into your next broader impacts proposal, conference, or seminar series.
Training and presentation options I offer regularly:
- Inclusive SciComm:
- Better together – Identifying your own goals and values as a communicator, to help you connect to stakeholders’ values – facilitated goal-setting plus worksheets to think through shared values (workshop)
- Demystifying the media – effectively engaging with journalists about science
- Facts don’t work (alone) – foundations of scicomm plus related activities (interactive talk)
- One-stop-scicomm – One-pagers and policy/stakeholder briefs that work (workshop)
- Power of plain language – recognizing and avoiding jagon by developing messaging for effective scicomm (workshop)
- Seeing science – ethical, evidence-based approaches to visual communication of science (interactive talk)
- Enhancing Mentoring: Workshops on topics including work-life harmony, fostering mentee self-efficacy & independence, and mentoring toward justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Art-Science Integration: Workshops including:
- Sketching for Scientists – drawing training for researchers, field scientists, and university students
- Drawn to Science – training in drawing skills, drawing facilitation, and drawing assessment for science instructors K-12+university; workshops for science students.
“I used your facilitated nature drawing exercises with two groups I taught this weekend at Harvard Forest, and even though I’m not an artist, they thought I was! Thanks for the resources.”
~C. Hart, Harvard Forest Outreach & Development Manager for Education & Research Programs
Bethann Garramon Merkle, MFA 
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