Jon Brooks
Digital Editor, Science
Jon Brooks is KQED's Science Digital Editor. He is the former editor of KQED’s daily news blog, News Fix. A veteran blogger, he previously worked for Yahoo! in various news writing and editing roles. He was also the editor of EconomyBeat.org, which documented user-generated content about the financial crisis and recession. Jon is also a playwright whose work has been produced in San Francisco, New York, Italy, and around the U.S. He has written about film for his own blog and studied film at Boston University. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College.
Joshua Cassidy
Digital Video Producer
Joshua is a Digital Media Producer for KQED Science, and the Lead Producer and Cinematographer for Deep Look. After receiving his BS in Wildlife Biology from Ohio University, he went on to participate in marine mammal research for NOAA, USGS and the Intersea Foundation. He also served as the president of The Pacific Cetacean Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching students K-6 about whales. Josh studied science and natural history filmmaking at San Francisco State University and Montana State University.
Sevda Eris
Director of Audience Engagement, Science
Sevda has over 15 years of expertise in media and public relations. Sevda first joined KQED in 2002 organizing screening events for documentaries such as Hope on the Street, Coastal Clash and The New Americans. After taking some time off to raise her two young daughters, she returned to KQED in 2006 to work on publicity and community outreach for KQED’s multimedia science series QUEST. Before moving to San Francisco, Sevda worked for a variety of organizations, including America Online, the American-Turkish Council and the World Bank. Sevda loves to travel and has lived abroad in several countries including Australia, Italy, Spain and Turkey. She enjoys documentary film and photography and is curious about all things art, nature and science related. Sevda holds a B.A. in communication from U.C. San Diego and an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University.
Lauren Farrar
Education Media Producer
Lauren has a background in biology, education, and filmmaking. She has had the privilege to work on a diverse array of educational endeavors. Lauren's career has taken her to the deepest parts of the ocean to film deep sea hydrothermal vents for classroom webcasts, into the pool to film synchronized swimmers to teach about the pH scale, and on roller coasters to create a video about activation energy. And, she’s done it all for the sake of education. Lauren loves communicating science! Follow her on Twitter: @LFarrarAtWork
Teodros Hailye
Information Designer
Teodros joined KQED in 2016 to design interactive and motion graphics for the KQED Science team. Before KQED, he was a multidisciplinary designer at industrial and entertainment studios in Los Angeles. He received a B.F.A. from Art Center College of Design with a focus on 3D modeling and CAD. In addition to being an asteroid mining geek, he's an avid backpacker and volunteer with pit bulls and large dogs at Oakland Animal Services.
Derek Lartaud
Education Media Producer
Derek Lartaud came to the Bay Area after nearly five years of researching schizophrenia and diabetes at Yale University. Determined to tell visual stories, he’s worked for the BBC, Al Jazeera America, TIME, PBS, and the Center for Investigative Reporting. He has a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a master’s degree in journalism. When not holding a camera or editing a story, he’s trying to rebuild his 1969 Honda CL350.
Sue Ellen McCann
Executive in Charge, Science
Sue Ellen McCann is the Executive in Charge of Science at KQED, the public broadcasting station in San Francisco. The KQED team is the largest science journalism unit in California producing science news and features for TV, radio, web and social media as well as professional development for educators and interactive products for learning environments. Sue Ellen specializes in multi-platform productions working on local and national public media projects and content audience engagement strategies.
Lesley McClurg
Radio Reporter
Lesley is a radio reporter covering medicine, space and environment for KQED Science. Her work has appeared on Marketplace, Latino USA, and NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Previously, she covered food and sustainability for Capital Public Radio in Sacramento. She began her media career at KCTS Television in Seattle. You can find her on Twitter at @lesleywmcclurg.
Craig Miller
Editor Emeritus, Science
Craig Miller is KQED's Science Editor. A multi-faceted journalist at home on either end of the microphone, he brings three decades of diverse experience to KQED's science coverage. Prior to his current assignment, Craig led the team that launched KQED’s award-winning Climate Watch project in 2008. From producing and directing documentaries on public television to his reporting for outlets such as CNN and National Geographic Channel, Craig's background makes him uniquely suited to help lead KQED's Science and Environment editorial team. As a radio correspondent for KQED's The California Report, Craig has reported extensively on environmental and resource issues facing California and the American West.
Jenny Oh
Digital Media Producer
Jenny is a Digital Media Producer for KQED Science's Deep Look online video series. She was also a long-time contributor to Bay Area Bites, KQED's popular food blog. Jenny graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Film and Television program and has worked for WNET/PBS, The Learning Channel, Sundance Channel, HBO and the University of California.
Gabriela Quirós
Co-ordinating Producer
Gabriela started her journalism career in 1993 as a newspaper reporter in Costa Rica, where she grew up. She won two national reporting awards there for series on C-sections and organic agriculture, and developed a life-long interest in health reporting. She moved to the Bay Area in 1996 to study documentary filmmaking at the University of California-Berkeley, where she received master’s degrees in journalism and Latin American studies. She joined KQED as a TV producer when QUEST started in 2006 and has covered everything from Alzheimer’s to bee die-offs to dark energy. She has shared two regional Emmy Awards, and nine of her stories have been nominated for the award as well. Independent from her work on QUEST, she produced and directed the hour-long documentary Beautiful Sin, about the surprising story of how Costa Rica became the only country in the world to outlaw in vitro fertilization. The film is airing nationally on public television stations in 2015.
Paul Rogers
Managing Editor, Science
In addition to his role at KQED, Paul also works as the Natural Resources & Environment Writer at the San Jose Mercury News. Since 1989 at the newspaper, he has covered issues including logging, ocean issues, air pollution, energy, water policy, endangered species, toxics, and global warming. Paul was part of the Mercury News team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times and other newspapers. Paul also has taught environmental journalism at the UC-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and at the UC-Santa Cruz Science Communication Program. From 2001 to 2010, he served as chairman of the board of the Institutes of Journalism and Natural Resources, a non-profit group based in Montana that provides training to reporters to improve environmental journalism. He lives in Santa Cruz, with his wife, Leigh Poitinger.
Craig Rosa
Senior Digital Editor, Science
Craig is responsible for the integration of traditional and web-based media across all Science platforms, as well as ongoing production of web-only content features. He is also the Series Producer for KQED's award-winning science web video series Deep Look on YouTube. Prior to joining KQED in October of 2006, he spent 11 years with The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, where he worked to create innovative educational visitor experiences online and within the museum space. He was also responsible for the museum's Information Services operations. He began his informal science interpretation career at the Brooklyn Children's Museum as an Assistant Exhibit Developer and Greenhouse Program Coordinator. Craig has a B.A. in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA, and an M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University.
Mike Seely
Producer, Science
Mike is a Digital Media Producer for KQED Science and Post Production Coordinator for Deep Look. Prior to his work at KQED, he worked independently for 15 years as a director, producer and cinematographer of documentary films about art, science, and social issues, collaborating with independent directors, corporate clients, non-profits, digital and broadcast networks. Previous to filmmaking life, he majored in biology as an undergrad at Oberlin College, and worked as a wildlife biologist on bird and seal population studies in California. He also holds an M.A. in Documentary Film Production from Stanford University.
Kat Snow
Senior Editor, Science
Kat works with a talented team of reporters to shape KQED's award-winning radio and web journalism. Over two decades in public radio, Kat has worked as a news director, editor, reporter, newscaster and talk show host. She learned radio at community station KMUN in Astoria, Oregon, and worked at KBOO and OPB in Portland, then covered government, ecology, mental health, religion, water and land use battles at KUER in Salt Lake City. Her work has appeared on NPR, Minnesota Public Radio and MonitorRadio, and in The Atlantic and Newsweek. Kat has a BA in International Relations from Pomona College and an MA in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she works as a public speaking coach. She loves hiking, camping and movement, and teaches Soul Motion(TM), a conscious dance practice.
Lauren Sommer
Radio Reporter, Science
As part of the Science News team, she has scaled Sierra Nevada peaks, hunted for newts in the rain, and desperately tried to get her sea legs - all in the pursuit of good radio. Originally from the Bay Area, Lauren attended Cornell University and has a background in environmental policy. Before joining KQED, Lauren cruised bunny slopes as a ski instructor in Tahoe, California and ate croissants in France as a travel writer for Frommer's. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Adventure and Sierra magazine and on Marketplace and NPR's Morning Edition.
Kevin Stark
Digital Producer, Science
Kevin is a digital producer for KQED Science. His journalism career began in the Pacific Northwest, and he later became a lead reporter for the San Francisco Public Press. Kevin has reported from melting glaciers in Mongolia, electric buses in Chicago, a coal plant in Wisconsin, toxic waste sites in Indiana, and a desk at KQED. His work has appeared in Pacific Standard magazine, the Energy News Network, the Center for Investigative Reporting's Reveal, and WBEZ in Chicago. Follow him on twitter @starkkev. Send him an email at kstark@kqed.org.
Danielle Venton
Editor, Science
Danielle Venton is an editor for KQED Science. Her stores have been heard on NPR's All Things Considered, Here & Now and The Takeaway.
Danielle joined KQED in 2015 as a fill-in host. She has worked at KRCB-FM in Sonoma County and at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Danielle is a graduate of the UC-Santa Cruz Science Communication Program. Her written work has appeared in WIRED, Nature, Popular Mechanics and High Country News. Danielle's interests span everything under the skies, but also the skies themselves.
Find her on Twitter @danielleventon or write her at dventon@KQED.org.
Community Partners
Aquarium of the Bay
Bay Area Science Festival(UCSF)
California Academy of Sciences
Chabot Space and Science Center
East Bay Regional Park District
The Exploratorium
Girl Scouts of Northern California
Gladstone Institutes (UCSF)
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the National Park Service
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Hall of Science
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
Oakland Zoo
Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy
Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
The Tech Museum of Innovation
University of California at Berkeley Natural History Museums
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Contact Us
We would like to hear your thoughts about KQED Science on television, radio, the web, and in the classroom. Send your comments to:
KQED Science
2601 Mariposa St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 553-3360
To give us feedback and pitch your story ideas email us at: science@kqed.org
Formal and informal educators who would like to find out more about our educator resources and our teacher institutes should email: ScienceEd@kqed.org.
You can also find out more via our Pressroom.
QUEST & KQED Science Staff Alumni
Jeanette Aguilar, Science and Environment Manager
Andrea Aust, Senior Manager, Science Education
Chris Bauer, Media Producer
Ifanyi Bell, Associate Media Producer
Jason Black, QUEST Executive Producer
Jen Brady, Audience Engagement Producer
Arwen Curry, Associate Producer, Television
Chrissy Farr, Editor and Host, Future of You
Mike Kahn, Hub Content Coordinator
Michael Goode, TV Associate Producer
Shirley Gutierrez, TV Editor
Joan Johnson, TV Associate Producer
Sarah Kass, TV Segment Producer
Elliott Kennerson, Digital Media Producer
Andrea Kissack, Senior Editor, Science
Lindsay Kelliher, TV Associate Producer
Amy Miller, TV Series Producer
Jessica Neely, Project Manager, Science Education
Linda Peckham, TV Editor
David Pierce, Graphic Designer
Johanna Reis, Production and Finance Operations Manager
Suzanne Romaine, Business Manager
Josh Rosen, TV Series Producer
Sheraz Sadiq, TV and Interactive Producer
Molly Samuel, Multimedia Producer
Laurie Schmidt, TV Series Editor
Sandy Schonning, Series Manager
Adam Sopko, Associate Director, Foundation Relations
