About
The CSA Team
In addition to Staff and Board members, the CSA Team includes many volunteer leaders. See the following links for information about CSA Working Group leaders and Journal Editorial Board members.
Interim Executive Director, Jennifer Shirk
I work to research, advance, and serve efforts involving public participation in scientific research. As the Interim Executive Director of the Citizen Science Association, I strive to build connections for leaders and learners in all contexts to share practical and evidence-based knowledge for effective research collaborations. As a researcher (PhD, Cornell Natural Resources), I explore promising practices that support integrity in both research and public engagement. My particular passion is for understanding the ways that building relationships can support more effective collaborations in complex conservation and management settings. I am continually fascinated by life on an island in southeastern New York.
Community Engagement Specialist, Reanna Putnam
I provide structure and support to leaders from across this broad community to promote engagement through core CSA programming–our working groups, webinars, conferences and virtual events. I strongly believe that organizations function best when many voices are heard and many skill sets are leveraged and appreciate the collaborative nature of my work. I have a Master’s degree in Sociology from Colorado State University where I was involved with numerous participatory and applied research projects and a background in non-profit program development. I live in the Shawnee National Forest in beautiful Southern Illinois with my wildlife researcher husband and two kids.
Events Coordinator, Liv Vega (Liv for Events)
Editor in Chief, Jennifer Preece
I am a professor and dean emerita at the University of Maryland iSchool, where I was dean for ten years. Prior to that I was department chair of Information Systems at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and before that I was a professor in London and at the British Open University (OU), a large, innovative distance education institution that focuses on providing university information for all. At the OU I worked in the Biology and Computing Departments and in the Institute of Educational Technology. My research and teaching focuses on human-computer interaction, and the application and design of digital technologies to support and leverage citizen science, particularly focusing on the issues of participation, retention, community and scientific practice. I currently spend several months a year in Vancouver, BC, Canada where I am excited to be a member of Stanley Park Ecological Society.
Managing Editor, Sayzie Koldys
I am a Maine-based editor with a BA from Skidmore College, an MA in English/Writing from the University of New Hampshire, and an MFA in Writing/Fiction from Boise State University. As an in-house Production Editor for Annual Reviews, I oversaw all aspects of production across three scientific disciplines and proofread across more than forty. As a freelance editor, I’ve improved the clarity of papers, reports, and all manner of research and application materials for government offices, university faculty, and postdoctoral students. Most recently, I copyedited and managed production for The Future of Bluefin Tunas (2019), published by Johns Hopkins University Press. When I’m not editing, I write, teach cooking classes, ski, hike, scrape old paint from an even older sailboat, and endeavor to learn about the places where ocean, food, and culture intersect.