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Welcome to Our Newest Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program Cohort

Headshots of 16 individuals above a banner that says Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program | Fall 2025 Cohort.

Welcome to the September 2025 Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program cohort!

Participants in this cohort are Lyric Aquino, Nina Elkadi, Olivia Ferrari, Allison Johnson, Nehal Johri, Aniket Narawad, Esra Öz, Soujanya Padikkal, Ester Pinheiro, Bec Roldan, Amir Sadiq, Sahana Sitaraman, Fayth Tan, Swati Thapa, Gretchen Uhrinek, and Shivali Verma. Learn more about them here.

This program is a pilot test of a new program format. It brings together a cohort of 16 early-career science journalists for a three-month peer-mentoring experience. (This pilot test involves an invited cohort, but we anticipate opening future cohorts to applications.) Participants will both mentor and be mentored by one another, with the aim of pursuing individual goals such as pitching, reporting, or writing articles for publication, or building new skills and confidence in unfamiliar areas.

The program includes:

Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program logo
  • Three months of semi-structured learning: Each week features assigned readings and guided discussions that focus on practical aspects of science journalism. Topics include generating strong story ideas and navigating the pitch process, finding and interviewing sources, structuring stories, revising and editing, and more.
  • Community discussion space: A dedicated Slack group provides opportunities for informal exchange, peer feedback, and ongoing mutual support throughout the program.
  • Live virtual events: Participants will take part in webinars, Q&A sessions, and other online gatherings with experienced journalists and editors, designed to deepen learning and spark conversation.
  • Goal-oriented mentoring: Each participant will set individual goals at the outset and receive encouragement, accountability, and constructive feedback from peers as they work toward those goals.

The program is designed to foster a culture of reciprocity, learning, and reflection. By the end of the three months, participants will have advanced their own projects, built durable professional connections, and gained new insights and strategies they can carry forward in their careers.

We’re proud to be working with this talented group of journalists. Please join us in welcoming them all to the TON community!

About Sharon Dunwoody

A smiling woman in a blue zip-up jacket sitting on an upholstered chair with a bookshelf behind her.
Sharon Dunwoody. (Photo courtesy of the University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Sharon L. Dunwoody (1947-2022) was one of the U.S.’s preeminent scholars of science and environmental journalism, the first woman to serve as director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and a mentor to legions of students and science writers across the world. Sharon embodied inclusion, never hesitating to welcome and assist colleagues, students, scientists, and virtually everyone with whom she crossed paths. She was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as a member and president of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research and the Association for Education in Journalism in Mass Communication. She was a prolific scholar of science communication for public audiences and earned scores of accolades and awards. She also co-founded UW–Madison’s long-running Science Journalist in Residence Program, which along with a host of other journalist-in-residence programs at the school where she spent the majority of her career, now bears her name. Sharon was a longtime friend to The Open Notebook and is deeply missed.

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