Image credit: Tanya Young, member since 2012
Help Move Us Forward
We can’t do this alone! We need YOU!
GNSI is a 501(c)(3) organization run by volunteers. We put on a Visual SciComm Conference for between 150-300 people each year with affordable workshops and presentations from industry leaders. We produce a beautiful image-forward journal that offers insights into projects, techniques and trends in the field three times a year. We create a monthly newsletter and host a job board to keep you updated on the latest news and opportunities. We do this because we care about visual science communication and believe our continued success hinges on how we support each other as we learn, share and grow.
Visual science communicators are often the only one with their skills and interests in the room. GNSI volunteer opportunities are a great way to meet and work with other like-minded individuals.
If you’ve learned from the affordable and accessible world-class workshops and conferences GNSI puts on, consider giving back and supporting what we do by volunteering your time.
Many of the GNSI volunteer positions allow you to gain and practice critical new skills that just might help you land that next job! Examples include marketing, copyediting, layout and design.
Image credit: Sara McCormick, member since 2021
so many ways to contribute:
CONFERENCE PLANNING: organize and run in-person and online conferences
EDUCATION FUND GRANTS COMMITTEE: evaluate applications to our small grants program
JOURNAL OF NATURAL SCIENCE ILLUSTRATION: help produce GNSI's premier periodical
GNSI'S WORKSHOP SERIES: organize and run valuable continuing education workshops
ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE: advise the Board and run the grants process for our Accessibility Grant Fund
ONLINE TEAM: shape GNSI's online presence through web, social, and member communications
LOCAL CHAPTERS & GROUPS: organize local events
Our Online Team manages our web presence. In today's connected world, this team is indispensible as they update our website, send out newsletter communications, manage our social media accounts, and help troubleshoot membership portal issues.
Social Media Manager
Newsletter Editor
Webmaster
Web Editor
vacant
The Journal Team is responsible for creating an average of three published journals each year. This highly productive team invites authors to contribute articles, then copyedits, designs and lays out the journal before sending it to our publisher to be sent to membership. Volunteers in these roles gain valuable skills in art direction, production management, editing, copyediting, layout, and design.
Managing Editor:
vacant
Production Editor:
Fiona Martin
Senior Consulting Editor:
Britt Griswold
Layout Editor:
Sarah McNaboe
Layout Designer:
Autumn Von Plinsky
Technical Editor:
Caitlin O'Connell
Content Editors:
Kathleen Garness
Anna McGaraghan
Julianne Snider
Laura Sohl-Smith
Cheryl Wendling
Post-Production:
Jennifer Lucas
Olivia V. Ambrogio
Gail Guth
Jennifer Wang
The Education Fund Granting Committee meets twice a year to evaluate applications for funding from the Education Fund. Under the direction of the Education Director on the Board, they award grants up to $1500 to project proposals submitted by members. Applications are due April 1 and October 1 of each year. To learn more, visit our Education Fund information page.
Chair:
Gloria Fuentes, Education Director
Members:
Lucy Gagliardo
Nancy Hart
Throughout the year, GNSI offers valuable professional development workshops for all levels. The Workshop Series Team works with our Education Director to plan and run these important events.
2024 Workshop Series Team:
Gloria Fuentes
Lilly Eluvathingal Linden
The GNSI Visual SciComm Conference is our biggest event of the year, drawing hundreds of people from all over the world. In years when we meet in person, conference teams of up to 20 people coalesce in a concentrated geographical region to put on a conference for up to 200 people from around the country. Every other year, we hold our conference online, allowing us to engage a much broader audience and speaker line-up - the sky's the limit! Conference teams manage everything from programming to registration to the annual auction and Juried Members' Exhibit.
2023 Planning Team:
Presentations Lead: Jen Christiansen
Presentations Support: Lilly Linden
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Logo: Mesa Shumacher
Portfolio Sharing & Tweetstorm: Jenn Deutscher
Juried Members' Exhibit: Jess Sorensen, Gloria Fuentes, Kalliopi Monoyios
Jurors: Alex Warnick, Beth Zaiken, Joris de Raedt, Anna Kaye
Host: Sara Taliaferro
Event Admins: Morgan McCullin, Mark Kesling, Britt Griswold
Tech Team: Deb Shaw, Lilly Linden, yyy, Cordelia Norris
Website: Andrew McAfee
Grants Committee: Marla Coppolino, Elizabeth Morales
Merchandise: Caitlin O'Connell
Newsletter: Trenton Jung
Additional Support: Joel Floyd
Most years, the GNSI's Annual Juried Members' Exhibit takes place under the larger umbrella of conference planning. In 2024, however, we conducted the exhibit separately.
2024 Exhibit Team
Smita Debnath
2024 Jurors
William Westwood, MS, CMI
The Conference Oversight Committee (COC) consists of volunteers who have experience putting on conferences in past years. They help guide the current team of conference planners and look ahead to recruit future planning teams.
Chair: Open
COC Team A:
COC Team B:
The Accessibility Committee advises the Board on policies that might further our efforts to make GNSI open to people from all walks of life. As part of this work, they run the application process for grants from our newly founded Accessibility Grants Fund.
Accessibility Committee:
Marla Coppolino
Elizabeth Morales
The Nominations & Awards Committee help the Board identify individuals who are qualified for leadership positions within the organization. They also nominate and distribute awards to members who have gone above and beyond in making GNSI the vibrant institution it is to this day.
Image credit: Mafalda Paiva, member since 2011
Image credit: Erin Hunter, member since 2005
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