Putting science
at the heart of development
Who we are
SciDev.Net involves a wide range of individuals working together towards common goals across the globe.
Our main office is based in London but we have a worldwide network of registered users, advisors, consultants and freelance journalists, predominantly from developing countries, who drive our activities and vision.
London staff
Nick Ishmael Perkins, director director@scidev.net
Nick joined SciDev.Net as director in March 2012. He believes "that SciDev.Net has an important role to play by inspiring a culture of science amongst vulnerable or deprived communities".
He has worked as a journalist, media trainer and project manager for many years in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean. He co-founded Media for Development, an award-winning consultancy providing support in a number of areas of communication for development. Nick also worked as a knowledge management and learning advisor for the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) and the UK-based NGO Healthlink Worldwide. He has a postgraduate degree in anthropology and development. He was head of research communication at the Institute of Development Studies before moving to SciDev.Net.
Naomi Martin née Antony, deputy news and analysis editor news@scidev.net
Naomi commissions, edits and sub-edits news and opinion articles for the SciDev.Net website, as well as researching and writing news articles. She also collaborates with the news and opinion editors on identifying suitable topics for editorial content, and maintains the upkeep of SciDev.Net’s style guide. Naomi holds a BSc in geology and an MSc in science communication, both from Imperial College, London.
Tom Campbell, sub editor news@scidev.net
Tom subedits and proofreads news, feature, opinion and editorial articles. He has a BSc in environmental sciences and a postgraduate diploma in periodical journalism. Tom joined SciDev.Net in November 2012 after eight years in magazine publishing.
Paul Dawson, operations manager operations@scidev.net
Paul is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations at SciDev.Net’s London office, including overseeing the organisation’s finances, HR, IT systems, legal affairs and providing governance support to the board of trustees. Paul joined us in October 2011 following six years working in the charitable sector with responsibility for finance, IT, HR and general office management. Prior to that Paul worked in materials research and development in the aerospace industry.
Jan Evetts, digital support technician support@scidev.net
Jan is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of digital operations, including website, mobile and other technical products. He previously worked as a consultant analyst on social housing projects for the United Kingdom’s Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Jan holds a degree in chemistry from Imperial College, London
Carmen Fishwick, digital producer production@scidev.net
Carmen is responsible for the production of our web pages, ensuring quality contentdesign and delivery, and facilitating user-interaction through social media and digital engagement. She has a BA in communications and an MA in international relations and development from the University of Warwick. Before joining SciDev.Net Carmen worked for English language magazines and newspapers in Shanghai and Beirut, and has held communication and production roles at Human Rights Watch and the BBC.
Caitlin Flint, user engagement manager marketing@scidev.net
Caitlin manages the planning, development and monitoring of marketing and communication activities at SciDev.Net, with a focus on global user engagement and audience development. Caitlin holds a BA degree in Publishing and English Studies and a CIM Diploma in Marketing. Since graduating Caitlin worked for global publishers Wiley and the Royal Society of Medicine Press.
Andrew Lee, head of digital production@scidev.net
Andy is responsible for leading the global strategy, management and planning of digital operations and product developments, as well as content production. Before joining SciDev.Net in May 2007 Andy was a production editor at the Royal Society. He has a PhD from the University of Leeds in analytical chemistry applied to complex environmental and atmospheric mixtures.
Anita Makri, opinion and special features editor topics@scidev.net
Anita is responsible for commissioning and editing opinion articles, columns and editorials, as well as the Spotlights and Practical Guides published on the homepage. Before joining SciDev.Net she worked as an editor for online news and open-access journal publications. Anita began her career as a research scientist and has written on health risk and vulnerability based on work at the George Washington University, the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Joint Research Centre. She has an MA in environmental science and policy and an MPH in epidemiology.
Gillian McAveety, office administrator and PA to the director accounts@scidev.net
Gillian provides administrative support in the day-to-day running of SciDev.Net’s London office and PA duties to the director of SciDev.Net. She worked with one of the largest older people’s charities in the United Kingdom prior to joining SciDev.Net, where she coordinated the organisation’s operations, including the finances, HR, IT support and conference facilities.
Jessica Romo, monitoring and evaluation coordinator marketing@scidev.net
Jessica is responsible for ensuring that SciDev.Net fulfills its mission by monitoring and evaluating ourobjectives, ensuring that we understand and respond to stakeholder needs and communicate the outcomes and impacts of SciDev.Net to staff, donors, the NGO sector and the wider public, helping raise SciDev.Net’s profile via the M&E structure.She has work experience in the private, public and third sector – both in the developing and industrialised world.Jessica has a BA in internationalstudies and an MSc in development and environmental issues, with a particular specialisation in participatory and M&E methods for governance and development models.
Mićo Tatalović, news editor news@scidev.net
Mićo commissions news and feature articles for the website and oversees their editing. During his time at SciDev.Net Mićo was shortlisted for the Best Newcomer (2011) and the Best News Item (2012) at the British Association of Science Writers’ annual awards. He also won Best Article at the EU-funded project RELATE –REsearchLAbs for TEaching journalists (2011) – and the Next Generation of Science Journalists competition (2012) co-organised by the World Federation of Science Journalists. He is actively involved in promoting quality science journalism in South-East Europe, including through advising local governments.
Regional desks
Our regional news desks provide dedicated editorial, marketing and digital services in the regions that they cover. The regional coordinators drive our networks in Latin America &Caribbean and South Asia. They are pivotal in managing the future direction of the networks. They build partnerships with key organisations, coordinate editorial content on the website, promote SciDev.Net and manage their teams of consultants and freelancers.
Luisa Massarani, regional coordinator americalatina@scidev.net
Luisa is based in Brazil and is responsible for coordinating SciDev.Net’s freelance correspondents and other key individuals and organisations in Latin America &Caribbean.She also coordinates meetings, workshops and other training events on science communication and science journalism.Luisa is a science journalist, has a PhD in science communication, and has published several scientific papers and books in this field. She works at the Museum of Life/Fiocruz in Rio de Janeiro, which hosts SciDev.Net Latin America.
Paula Leighton, regional consultant paula.leighton@scidev.net
Paula is a science journalist based in Chile, and has a master’s degree in electronic media.She has been writing articles for SciDev.Net since 2004, and also assists Luisa Massaraniin editing and coordination tasks. She worked as a journalist for Enlaces, a science programme broadcast by public television in Chile, and was the editor of the science and health section of the national newspaper La Tercera. She now writes about science and health for El Mercurio, another national newspaper in Chile.
Lisbeth Fog, regional consultant americalatina@scidev.net
Lisbeth is based in Bogotá, Colombia. She collaborates in the editing of SciDev.Net’s Spanish articles, sometimes translating English versions into Spanish. She also acts as a freelance correspondent. Lisbethhas been a science writer since 1984, and holds an MSc in science reporting from Boston University, United States, where she travelled as a Fulbright scholar. Currently – at the national level – she collaborates as a freelance writer at El Espectador, a Colombian daily newspaper, teaches journalism and leads a research seed group of undergraduates in science communication at Universidad Externado de Colombia. She is also part of a research group in the social appropriation of science, technology and innovation at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.
Daniela Hirschfeld, regional consultant daniela.hirschfeld@scidev.net
Daniela is a science journalist based in Uruguay. She has been writing for SciDev.Net since 2005 and also assists Luisa Massarani, including coordinating social media across the region. Daniela was in charge of the Science, Technology and Health section of Búsqueda, a weekly newspaper in Uruguay, and is editor-in-chief of a magazine at this national publication. Daniela was one of the 12 2009–2010 international Knight Science Journalism Fellows at MIT, Boston. She is also professor at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay where she teaches science journalism.
Zoraida Portillo, regional collaborator americalatina@scidev.net
Zoraida is based in Lima, Peru, and is responsible for writing science and technology stories from Latin American countries for SciDev.Net as a freelance correspondent. She also translates English articles into Spanish and sometimes assists Luisa Massarani. Zoraida has been writing articles for SciDev.Net since 2004. She has worked as a scientific journalist since 1995 in diverse national and international media and was a communication officer at the International Potato Center for 14 years.
Bothina Osama, MENA regional coordinator bothina.osama@scidev.net
Bothinais a science journalist based in Cairo and is responsible for commissioning and editing SciDev.Net’s MENA news. She is a founding member of the Arab Science Journalists Association. She has a background in science journalism, especially on the Iinternet, and was the managing science editor at Arabic website IslamOnline.net for several years. Bothinaholds a BSc in commerce from Cairo University.
T V Padma, regional coordinator padma@scidev.net
Padma reports on science from India, coordinates freelance contributions from the region and liaises with key organisations that partner with SciDev.Net activities. She has a postgraduate degree in science from the University of Delhi, India. She has worked as a science correspondent with the Press Trust of India, and ran development communication projects for Panos South Asia. She also writes for Nature Medicine and New Scientist.
Sanjay M. Johri, regional consultant
Sanjay, who is based in Lucknow, manages the promotional activities of SciDev.Net in South Asia including a pilot project on Hindi and Urdu translations of SciDev.Net content in northern India. Sanjay is professor-director at the Amity School of Communication, Amity University, Lucknow, where he teaches reporting and media writing to journalism students. Sanjay is the author of the book Out in the Field: A Reporter’s Guide.Previously he worked with the Press Trust of India, where he covered science and politics,at theMaharana Institute of Communication Studies, Lucknow and the Jaipuria Institute of Management, before joining Amity University.
Ranjit Devraj
Ranjit, who specialises in political and development policies in the Asia Pacific region, advises and helps with the management of News, Features and Opinions on SciDev.Net’sSouth Asia gateway. Since 1998 he has been with the Inter Press Service international news agency working in various capacities, including editor for Asia Pacific region. Before that he worked for several years as a science and health correspondent for the United News of India, a major domestic news agency.
Joel is an award-winning freelance science journalist based in the Philippines and is responsible for coordinating SciDev.Net’s freelance writers in South-East Asia & Pacific.Joel has an MSc in environmental science and, as an experienced consultant on science, agriculture, environment and education sectors, has been involved in various projects for the World Bank, USAID, ADB and UNICEF. He is also a long-time director of public relations for Rotary Club Makati Olympia.
Ochieng Ogodo, regional news editor ochieng.ogodo@scidev.net
Ochieng’is a Kenyan science journalist and is responsible for coordinating correspondents and coverage from Sub-Saharan Africa for SciDev.Net. He is the English-speaking Africa and Middle East region winnerof the 2008 Reuters-IUCN Media Awards for Excellence in Environmental Reporting.Ochieng’ is the chairman of the Kenya Environment and Science Journalists Association (KENSJA).As a journalist, his works have been published in various parts of the world including Africa, the UK and the US. He has a deep interest in science journalism and has also presented papers at conferences on the ‘Media and Environmental Protection’and ‘Climate ChangeReporting: The Developing Word Perspective’.
Théodore Koudore, francophone West Africa news coordinator koudore@yahoo.fr
Trustees
The Board of Trustees sets the overall direction of SciDev.Net and monitors its operation, both through an annual meeting of the full board, and quarterly meetings of its executive committee.
Each trustee is selected for their knowledge and experience of the issues that we cover. Two-thirds come from, or are based in, developing countries.
Current membership of the board of trustees is as follows
Andrew Bennett, chair
Andrew Bennett chairs SciDev.Net’s board of trustees and is a former executive director of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture. He is president of the UK Tropical Agricultural Association, a member of the Council of the Overseas Development Institute (United Kingdom) and chair of trustees of the Centre for International Forestry Research, Indonesia. Andrew was director of rural livelihoods and environment for the UK’s Department for International Development, providing advice to government ministers. He was awarded the UK Companion: Order of St Michael and St George for his services to foreign nations and has over 40 years’ experience in international development in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Caribbean.
Country: United Kingdom
Nadia El-Awady is a freelance science journalist and media consultant. She is a board member of the World Federation of Science Journalists and founding president of the Arab Science Journalists Association. She was the managing science editor at IslamOnline.net for several years and has worked as a freelancer for several international media organisations such as SciDev.net, Cosmos Magazine and Seed Magazine. After leaving IslamOnline.net she was program manager with the International Center for Journalists on a six-month training project for Egyptian journalists in investigative reporting. In recent years she has been the Middle East regional coordinator of a World Federation of Science Journalists’ training project for journalists in Africa and the Arab world. Nadia has won two international awards for her work. She holds a BSc in medicine from Cairo University and an MA in journalism and mass communication from the American University in Cairo.
Country: Egypt
Judith Francis is the senior programme coordinator of science and technology strategies at the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (the Netherlands). Her background is in science, technology and innovation management. She holds two MSc degrees and earned a certificate in science, technology and innovation policy from Harvard University. She is the author of numerous publications and edits the CTA S&T Portal on the Knowledge for Development website.
Country: The Netherlands/Trinidad
Nalaka Gunawardene is director and chief executive officer of TVE Asia Pacific, a regional media foundation that communicates about sustainable development and social justice through television, video and the web. Trained as a science writer and development journalist, Nalakahas 20 years’ experience in public communication, initially in the mainstream media and later in the development sector. He has also worked with IUCN (The World Conservation Union), consulted for several UN agencies in Asia and is a board member of Panos South Asia.
Country: Sri Lanka
Khotso Mokhele is vice-president of Scientific Planning and Review for the International Council for Science. He also chairs the board of directors for Mittal Steel South Africa. Previous appointments include the presidencies of the National Research Foundation (South Africa) and the Foundation for Research Development. Khotsowas also the founding president of the Academy of Science of South Africa. He holds a PhD in microbiology from the University of California.
Country: South Africa
Philip Rowley holds several senior positions, including the chairmanship of the audit committee of ARM Holdings PLC and his service as a non-executive director of HMV Group PLC. He is also a member of the National Development Board of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Philip was chairman and CEO of AOL Europe until March 2007 and has extensive experience in the financial and publishing sectors. He is a qualified chartered accountant, has a BSc in chemical engineering and is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Country: United Kingdom