Our People

SciLine is staffed by experienced scientists, communicators, reporters, and technologists. Our volunteer Advisory Board, comprising journalists, scientists, and communications professionals, regularly advises SciLine on strategy and operational issues and provides guidance in support of our commitment to accuracy, quality, and impartiality.

Staff

Matt DeRienzo

Director
he/him
Matt DeRienzo has worked in journalism for more than 30 years as a reporter, editor, publisher, teacher, and journalism nonprofit executive director. While editor-in-chief of the Center for Public Integrity, the nonprofit investigative newsroom’s work led to numerous changes in local, state, and federal policy and was recognized with some of journalism’s highest honors, including a national Edward R. Murrow Award for General Excellence and a Peabody nomination.

Sara Brinda

Senior manager, TV Projects
she/her
Sara is a science communications professional who leads SciLine’s outreach to local journalists, with an emphasis on local TV news. She works on projects—including SciLine’s Experts on Camera—to help busy local and general assignment reporters easily and conveniently connect with expert sources and include science in their stories.

Hilary Crichton

Scientific outreach manager
she/her
Hilary has a background in chemistry and has long appreciated public scientific outreach. At SciLine she helps facilitate the Expert Matching service connecting journalists with scientists.

Karl Eisenhower

Managing editor
Karl brings to SciLine extensive experience in public policy, editing, and the technology of publishing. In addition to his editing duties as managing editor, he manages the development and maintenance of key technologies for the team.

Becky Elmuccio

Marketing manager
she/her
Becky is a marketing professional with an extensive background in digital marketing and analytics for non-profit organizations and academic publishers.

Tori Espensen

Training director
she/her
Tori leads SciLine’s training programs, which help both scientists and journalists learn to work better together.

Becky Hazen

Deputy director
she/her
Becky is the co-founder and deputy director of SciLine.

Alisha Khodabocus

Data analysis intern
Alisha Khodabocus is a 2026 data-science graduate from the College of William and Mary.

Christian Monterrosa

Engagement manager
Christian is SciLine’s engagement manager.

Emily Mueller

Senior scientific outreach manager
she/her
Emily is a chemist with a background in polymer science and a passion for science communication.

Cat Murphy

Data viz and graphics intern
Cat Murphy is an award-winning reporter and investigative journalism fellow at the University of Maryland.

Beth Peck

Associate director of development
Beth Peck is the associate director of development at SciLine.

Elena Renken

Journalism projects editor
she/her
Elena is a writer and editor focused on science.

Sophia Rentschler

Engagement intern
Sophia Rentschler is a science journalist and physics student at the University of Missouri.

Alana Rios

Operations manager
she/her
Alana is an administrative and program management professional.

Haley Rush

Content manager, TV News
Haley is a seasoned broadcast journalist with experience in newsrooms across the country.

Taylor Seitz

Scientific outreach manager
she/her
Taylor is a biologist with a background in environmental microbiology.

Lashay Wesley

Journalist support correspondent
Lashay is an award-winning storyteller, journalist, and communications strategist.

Sara Whitlock

Scientific outreach manager
she/her
Sara is a biologist with a background in synthetic biology and microbiology.

Mohamed Yakub

Scientific outreach manager
Mohamed is a biologist with a background in evolutionary ecology and plant genetics.

Advisory Board

Nsikan Akpan

Managing editor, Think Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations
Nsikan Akpan is the managing editor for Think Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Tracy Day

Co-founder & CEO, World Science Festival
Tracy Day serves as CEO of the World Science Foundation.

Meredith Drosback

Meredith has an academic background in the physical sciences, including a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Colorado.

Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux

Professor of climatology, University of Vermont; Vermont State Climatologist
Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux is a professor of climatology in the Department of Geography at the University of Vermont.

Maggie Fox

Former CNN senior health editor and Reuters global health and science editor
Maggie Fox’s passion is writing what’s true about medicine and science.

S. James Gates Jr.

Ford Foundation Professor of Physics and affiliate professor of mathematics, Brown University
Sylvester James “Jim” Gates Jr. is an award-winning American theoretical physicist.

Margaret Hamburg

Former commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg is an internationally recognized leader in public health and medicine.

Laura Helmuth

Freelance editor, writer, and consultant
Laura Helmuth is a freelance editor, writer, and consultant.

Kathryn Murdoch

Co-founder and president, Quadrivium Foundation
Kathryn Murdoch is co-founder and president of the Quadrivium Foundation.

Dietram Scheufele

Professor of science communication, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Dietram A. Scheufele is the Taylor-Bascom Chair in Science Communication.

Mark Schleifstein

Freelance environment reporter, retired from The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
Mark Schleifstein is a freelance environment reporter in the New Orleans, La., area.

Natalie Stroud

Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, University of Texas at Austin
Talia Stroud has published extensively on how our beliefs influence the information that we seek and how we interpret that information.

Rick Weiss

Director emeritus
Rick founded SciLine in 2017 in response to changes in the journalism landscape.