We’re delighted to introduce a new member of our editorial team at The Open Notebook, our first-ever intern, Sarah Luft. Sarah is a writer, science reporter, and digital storyteller based in Queens, New York. She is a senior manager of marketing and communications at SeriousFun Children’s Network and a master’s candidate at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism. In the engagement journalism program, her focus is on meeting the information needs of people living with long COVID. Sarah has contributed to THE CITY, written about mental health for Lady Gaga’s Channel Kindness, and produced work for The Peace Studio. She is a member of The Wall Street Journal’s 2022 Noted Advisor Cohort. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @
During her internship, Sarah’s main role will be to work with TON editor-in-chief Siri Carpenter and senior editor Katherine J. Wu to help create a database of science journalists and editors from historically underrepresented communities, including journalists of color, disabled journalists, LGBTQIA journalists, and others, including from the international science journalism community.
Creating such a database has been a longtime objective here at The Open Notebook, so we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Sarah to bring this resource to fruition. She brings significant experience to the project, as well as an understanding that, as she says: “Our identities and the ways we move through the world shape the perspectives we bring to our work: the questions we ask, the stories we choose to cover, and the ways we synthesize information. This is true in my own experience as a member of the LGBTQIA community. Science journalism, much like Western science, is a historically white and male-dominated field. We all benefit when we elevate a greater diversity of voices. I’m excited to create a tool to support newsrooms, editors, and fellow science journalists in doing just that.”
We’re excited that in addition to her experience in journalism, Sarah brings experience with outreach communications and database design to this project. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with The Open Notebook team and fellow science journalists to bring the database to life,” she says. “During my time at TON, I hope to continue to hone the craft of science journalism and learn more about the field.”
Please join us in welcoming Sarah to the TON team!
