Ben Deighton
    Interim President

    United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

    Ben Deighton is the Managing Editor of SciDev.Net, the world’s biggest news service covering science in a development context. Ben is responsible for SciDev.Net’s strategic direction and for overseeing SciDev.Net content, ensuring its editorial independence and the quality of articles and multimedia products.

    Ben has been a journalist for over 20 years and worked as a correspondent for Reuters in London and Brussels covering tech startups and biotechnology companies. Ben was founding editor of Horizon magazine, a Brussels-based publication looking at European science. Ben started out as a journalist covering crime and transport for a local newspaper, and was also editor of a magazine focussed on the global veterinary medicines sector.

    Ben is also a board member of the Association of British Science Writers.

    Chhatra Karki
    Vice President

    Nepal

    Chhatra Karki is a science journalist and editor based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He holds the role of Program Director at the Nepal Forum of Science Journalists (NFSJ) and boasts a wealth of experience spanning over two decades in print, multimedia, and online journalism. Chhatra’s reporting encompasses a wide range of topics, including science, health, climate change, environment, technology, neuroscience and current events, which he covers for both national and international media outlets.

    Notably, Chhatra has previously held the position of Bureau Chief at Nagarik Daily Newspaper and has served as the Editor of NepalNews, which is Nepal’s first online news portal. Presently, he contributes as a Nepal Writer for gavi.org, where his articles explore subjects such as environmental health, public health, scientific research, and vaccines.

    Joseph MBENG BOUM
    Vice-President

    Cameroon

    Joseph MBENG BOUM has nearly 13 years of experience in science journalism. In August 2023, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Science Journalists for a renewable two-year term. Since 2022, he has been Coordinator of the Science Journalism Forum for French-speaking Africa. Elected National President of the Association of Science Journalists and Communicators for Health Promotion (AJC-PROSANTE) in 2020, he was re-elected on October 27, 2023, for a 03-year term. Member of the Réseau des Journalistes Scientifiques d’Afrique Francophone (RJSAF) and Member of the Science Journalists Network of Cameroon (SCILIFE). Since 2016, he has been CEO and Publication Director of ECHOS SANTE Daily (African daily for health, environmental and sustainable development news). October 2019 to date: Publishing Director of Journal Afrik Environnement – www.afrikenvironnement.info

    Lesley Evans Ogden
    Secretary

    Canada

    Freelance Science Journalist

    Lesley Evans Ogden. Based near Vancouver, Canada a multimedia science journalist living and working on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples. Lesley crossed a career bridge from scientist to journalist after a PhD and postdoctoral research in wildlife ecology. She is passionate about bringing the complexity, wonder, and nuance of science to diverse audiences. Drawn to stories about nature, the environment, wildlife, health, and the intersection of science and human rights, my work appears internationally in venues including The New York Times, BBC, CBC, Scientific American, Science, Nature, Natural History, and many others. Lesley’s deep scientific background gives me a high level of trust within a rich international network of scientists and I often provide training to scientists about how to communicate their work and build positive working relationships with journalists. She previously served on the board of the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada and is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists and National Association of Science Writers (US).

    Jean-Marc Fleury
    Treasurer

    Canada

    Journalist
    Jean-Marc Fleury is associate professor, Département d’information et de communication Université Laval, Québec City, Canada. He was previously the first Chair of the Science Journalism Chair at Université Laval, first Executive Director of the World Federation of Science Journalists, Director of the International Development Research Centre (Canada) Communications Division, editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Québec Science and science journalist at the newspaper Le Soleil (Québec City). 

    Harry Surjadi

    Indonesia

    Environmental journalist

    Harry Surjadi has been working as a journalist for more than 25 years. He specializes in environmental reporting. He is now a freelance journalist and contributes to Ekuatorial.com. He has founded two journalists’ organizations: the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists, in 2006, and the Society of Indonesian Science Journalists, in 2015. He is the executive director of the Society of Indonesian Science Journalists. From 2007 to 2008 and 2011 to 2012, Harry was a Knight International Journalism Fellow  in Indonesia. 

    In partnership with RuaiTV, he developed a mobile phone citizen journalism model for grass-roots community members to empower them in defending their rights to forests and lands in West Kalimantan. In 2013, he received the Communication for Social Change Award from the Centre for Communication and Social Change, University of Queensland, for his work in West Kalimantan.

    Ximena Serrano

    Colombia

    Freelance science journalist

    Ximena Serrano is a science journalist, the president of the Colombian Association of Science Journalism and Communication (ACPC), and a consultant, researcher, and speaker on topics related to science journalism, science, technology, and innovation (STI) communication, and knowledge appropriation. She is a freelance journalist with an extensive production of videos and articles for magazines, websites, and other media outlets. She served as the director of WCSJ2023.

    She holds a master’s degree in Social Communication of Scientific Research from the International University of Valencia, a specialization in Organizational Communication Management from the University of La Sabana, and diplomas in Senior Management and Digital Marketing from the same university.

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