Photo by Gretchen MathisonSheril Kirshenbaum is an associate at Duke University and co-author of Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future with Chris Mooney. She is involved in conservation initiatives across levels of government and works to improve communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public. Her second book will be published January 2011.
In 2007, Sheril helped to found Science Debate; an initiative encouraging candidates to debate science research and innovation issues on the campaign trail. She has also worked as a legislative science fellow on Capitol Hill with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) where she was involved in energy, climate, and ocean policy.
Sheril holds a MSc in Marine Biology and MP in Marine Policy from the University of Maine. Now a science journalist, she contributes to publications including New Scientist, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and The Nation, frequently writing about topics that bridge science and society from climate change to genetically modified foods. She speaks regularly around the country to audiences at universities, federal agencies, and museums and has been a guest on such programs as Science Friday and The Bob Edwards Show.
Previously, Sheril served as a Fellow with the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History and as a Howard Hughes Research Fellow at Tufts University. She has contributed reports to The Nature Conservancy and provided assistance on international protected area projects. She also has experience working in pop radio and her work has been published in Science, Fisheries Bulletin, Oecologia, and Issues in Science and Technology.
Sheril Kirshenbaum co-hosts The Intersection on Discover blogs with Chris Mooney and has contributed to DeSmogBlog, Talking Science, Wired Science and Seed. She was born in Suffern, New York and is also a musician.