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Program Staff
Affiliated Staff
Program Staff
Connie Bertka is Program Director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion. The program facilitates exchange between the religious community and the scientific community in order to both improve the level of scientific understanding in religious communities, and to encourage collaboration among the two communities to address critical multidisciplinary issues. Connie received her Ph.D. in Geology from Arizona State University in 1991. The focus of her research in Planetary Geology has been exploring the origin and evolution of terrestrial planets. Connie was a Senior Research Associate at the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington from 1993 to 2000. Much of her work at the Geophysical Laboratory focused on modeling the interior structure and composition of Mars utilizing data from high-pressure laboratory experiments. She also directed the laboratories educational outreach program for undergraduates. In addition to her scientific work, Connie has had a long term interest in the relationships between science and religion and their influence on public understanding of science. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. While at AAAS Connie has initiated projects that encourage constructive interaction between the scientific community and society at large on a diverse range of topics including astrobiology, bioresponsibility, science education and evolution.
Sarah Gillespie received her B.A. in International Affairs and Religion from The George Washington University in 2006. During her time at GW, Sarah interned at The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice where she organized activists from diverse religious backgrounds to advocate for reproductive choice within the context of their own faith traditions. After finishing at GW, she worked for Constella Futures, an international public health company, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. She has also spent time abroad in Kenya studying health and development. Sarah joined AAAS as Project Assistant in July 2007. She speaks beginning Portugese, and intermediate Spanish and Kiswahili.
After earning undergraduate degrees in Physics, Astronomy, and Russian from the University of Washington in 2003, Elspeth Suthers spent a year tutoring students at an inner-city high school in math, science, and study skills in her hometown of Seattle, Washington. She then spent two years with the Peace Corps teaching English in Azerbaijan and running secondary projects focused on developing girls' leadership. Elspeth returned to the United States in February of 2007 and has been working as a Project Assistant at AAAS since May 2007. In addition to her teaching and experience with the Peace Corps, she has also conducted research at the Space Telescope Science Institute on stellar clusters in late-type galaxies and ran the interactive shows at the planetarium and the Seattle Science Center.
After interning with DoSER for six months, Peyton West became a Senior Program Associate in April 2006. Her focus is evolution and she is currently working to promote "The Evolution Dialogues: Science, Christianity and the Quest for Understanding," DoSER's plain-language resource about evolution and Christianity and to develop two projects aimed at educating state and local board members about the nature of science and evolution. Peyton got her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Minnesota where she concentrated in behavioral ecology. Her thesis work explored the evolution of the African lion's mane and she spent five years in Tanzania with the Serengeti Lion Project. While in Minnesota, she taught ecology and evolution to University freshmen and supervised a number of undergraduate research projects. After finishing her doctorate, she worked in the Mammal department at the Bronx Zoo where she was involved in carnivore enrichment programs, captive population management, exhibit design and public outreach. She also worked with the Bell Museum of Natural History in Minnesota to develop an NSF funded exhibit about the lion's mane. Peyton's other public outreach activities include working on documentaries and television shows on topics relating to behavioral ecology and evolution.
Affilliated Staff
Mark S. Frankel directs the AAAS Scientific Freedom, Responsibility and Law Program and is responsible for developing and managing AAAS activities related to science, ethics and law. He serves as Staff Officer to two AAAS committees: the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility and the AAAS-American Bar Association National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists. He is editor of Professional Ethics Report, the Program's quarterly newsletter, and is a Fellow of AAAS.
Albert H. (Al) Teich is Director of Science & Policy Programs at AAAS, a position he has held since 1990. He is responsible for the Association's activities in science and technology policy and serves as a key spokesperson on science policy issues. Dr. Teich received a bachelor's degree in physics and a Ph.D. in political science, both from M.I.T. Prior to joining the AAAS staff in 1980, he held positions at George Washington University, the State University of New York, and Syracuse University. He is the author of numerous articles and editor of several books, including Technology and the Future, the most widely used college textbook on technology and society, the tenth edition of which was published by Thompson Wadsworth in 2005, and he is quoted and interviewed frequently in print media as well as on radio and television. Dr. Teich is a Fellow of AAAS and the recipient of the 2004 Award for Scientific Achievement in Science Policy from the Washington Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the editorial advisory boards to the journals, Science Communication; Science, Technology, and Human Values; Prometheus; Review of Policy Research; and Renewable Resources and a consultant to government agencies, national laboratories, industrial firms, and international organizations. He is a past chair of the Board of Governors of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation, where he remains a member of the executive committee; a member of the External Research Advisory Board for the University of California at Davis; the Norwegian Research and Technology Forum in the United States; the Advisory Board of the University of Virginia's Department of Science, Technology and Society; and the National Research Council's Research and Technology Transfer Committee.
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