AWE Members: Kathleen "Kit" S. Johnston

KATHLEEN "KIT" S. JOHNSTON
22 Parish Rd.
Reva, VA, 22735
703 975 2687 (cell)
540 547 2317
jhnstnkt@aol.com

At Present

I am a science writer under contract to Altarum for the American Health Information Community (AHIC/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]) (covering AHIC medical biosurvelliance and healthcare quality meetings on a regular basis), to Social and Scientific Systems (S-3) for HHS and the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) (regularly covering all PACHA meetings), and to Palladian Partners and to Capital Consulting for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). I also write on a regular basis for The Virginia Wine Gazette, covering a broad range of food, wine, and political issues. I free lance write, edit, and manage a number of other scientific, technical, and education and/or lifestyle projects (including book-length work) for other clients. I am also a substitute teacher at all levels for the Rappahannock County public school system.

At present, my principal NIH client through Palladian Partners is the Office of the NIH Director, where I continue to specialize in coverage of meetings involving public trust in clinical research, a topic I first became involved in while writing a lengthy, seminal report on the subject for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Other scientific, technical, and education and/or lifestyle clients include or have included the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education (DOEd, through DB Consulting), the World Bank, the Whitaker Foundation, the U.S. National Arboretum, IUCN, the Legal Action Center, the Youth Vote Coalition, Susan Leopold (dissertation on ethnobotany and the concept of "dormant" ethnobotany), Julia Shields (whose book "The MOMMY Trap" was recently published by Capital Publishing), the Institute for Alternative Futures, The National Council on the Aging, and Jane's Information Group.

2006/2007 Freelance Highlights: See above.

2003/2004/2005 Freelance Highlights: See above. In addition, I assisted U.S. Department of Education reviewers in their 2004 technical assistance field application review process, writing summaries of review panel discussions, and edited a full-length technical manual on emergency preparedness for emergency personnel for Jane's Information Group.

I also wrote the 2004 Annual Report and accompanying brochure for the Youth Vote Coalition.
As executive editor of the Virginia Wine and Food Society (VWFS) until the Society became defunct, I wrote and edited the Society’s monthly newsletter and the VWFS Tour Guide to Virginia wineries.
Other highlights: As a medical/health writer/editor for the NIH (through Palladian Partners and Capital Consulting), I wrote meeting summaries for the Office of the NIH Director, Office of Research on Women's Health, Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the Virology Faculty. (In recent years, I have also acted as a medical/health writer for NCI's Progress Review Groups [of lung, pancreatic, kidney/bladder, and stomach/esophageal cancers].)

I also worked as a developmental editor, writer, and copyeditor on the World Bank's preliminary report regarding its new "Global Strategy for Children and Youth."

For several years, I was a contributing writer to the Friends of the National Arboretum quarterly newsletter.

In the Past
From 1994 through 1999, I served as a consulting writer, editor, and project manager for private- and government-sponsored reports developed by the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education of the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences).

During this period, I also edited reports for the University of Wisconsin's National Center for Science Education, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Georgetown University, and SRA International.

During this period, I also co-conducted writing seminars for public relations professionals of the NIH and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with mentor and colleague, Prof. Kenneth Goldstein of the Columbia University Journalism School.

1989-1994—Director of Publications, Retired, National Science Resources Center (NSRC), Smithsonian Institution.
Managing a core staff of five and numerous consultants, I oversaw or assisted in the development, execution, production, and dissemination of all publications for this center, from periodicals and brochures to annual reports and books. With major funding from the National Science Foundation and private, non-profit sources, the NSRC developed the highly successful "Science and Technology for Children" (STC) curriculum for grades K-6 and Leadership Institutes, both of which have helped bring inquiry-oriented science learning to thousands of school districts across the country. STC consists of 24 teacher guides and separate student guides published by Carolina Biological Supply Co.

I also directed STC’s successful marketing campaign, including production with Yellow Cat of a 9-minute video depicting children and teachers across the country using STC materials.

1981-1989—Editor-in-Chief, Science Books & Films, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Writer, "Report on Science," AAAS and CBS-Radio.
Directly managing an editorial staff of two and indirectly managing production, marketing, and sales staff, I oversaw all operations of SB&F, a venerable quarterly-plus review journal of books, audio-visual, and software resources for the teaching of science and mathematics, grades K-16. I also devised and supervised unprecedented and comprehensive review of high-school biology, chemistry, and physics textbooks and instituted regular features and guest commentaries.

My AAAS career began as the writer of weekly radio shows on science for AAAS and CBS Radio. I also freelance wrote for Science 80, 81, and 82 (Science 80 X) magazine.

1974-1981 (with freelance work continuing to present)
Washington Correspondent and Domestic News Manager, McGraw-Hill Publications; Senior Legislative Aide, Sen. John Durkin (D-NH); Washington Correspondent, States News Service and Soundings magazine; Stringer, McGraw-Hill Detroit Bureau; Freelance Writer, The Washington Post; Copyeditor, AAAS/EPA Congressional Fellows Reports (4 years).

Education and Educationally Related Experience

M.S., Journalism, Columbia University
Adjunct Professor, Columbia University
B.A., cum laude, English Literature, Political Science, Stephens College
Legislative Aide, Rep. Wayne Goode, Chair, House Education Committee, Missouri State Legislature

Community and Professional Service

Representative to the Arlington Advisory Council on Instruction, Arlington School Board
Co-founder, Member of the Board, and Vice-President, Arlington New Directions Coalition; Former Editor, New Directions newsletter
Former Chair, Science Advisory Committee, Arlington School Board
Former President, Lee Gardens Housing Corporation, Arlington
Former President, Women’s National Book Association, Washington, D.C. Chapter

Publications Highlights

Magazines—
Feature or news stories written for

Arbor Friends (National Arboretum, contributing writer)
Chemical Week (multiple stories filed from the Detroit Bureau)
Engineering and News Record (multiple stories filed from the Detroit Bureau)
Ladies Home Journal (feature story on drunk driving)
New Engineer (feature story on automotive exhaust testing in NYC)
New Scientist (feature stories on Quality Control Circles [QCC] and on DDT leakage from the Redstone Arsenal site on Tennessee River and potential human health impacts)
Nucleonics Week (major story on Westinghouse settlement of federal antitrust suit)
Physician and Sports Medicine (multiple stories filed from the NYC Bureau)
Regulatory Affairs Focus (with Jonathan Peck of the Institute for Alternative Futures)
Restaurant Digest (Virginia Champagnes, in print for December 2004 issue; Independent Retailers and Virginia Wines, in print for January 2005 issue)
Science '80X
Virginia Wine and Food Society Newsletter and Tour Guide (executive editor)
Washington Journalism Review

Websites—

Project RISE (NAS)
Virginia Wine and Food Society

Newspapers and News Services—
Feature stories written for

Army Times
The Boston Globe
The Miami Herald
The New York Times News Service
The Ohio Observer
Soundings
The Virginia Wine Gazette
The Washington Post (major Op-Ed on genital herpes, subsequently picked up by The Boston Globe and The Miami Herald, several articles for the Food Section, and a two-part series on Canadian rail travel for the Travel Section)

Newsletters—
Have edited and/or written for

Arbor Friends (contributing writer and editor)
The Catalyst (NAS--2 years)
Oilgram News (McGraw-Hill--4 years; beat included Justice, State, the White House, EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Reports and Books Written and/or Edited Include—

Congressional Science and Engineering Fellows Program Evaluation (AAAS)
Corporate Structure (ACLI)
Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs: A Guide for Using Mathematics and Science Standards (NAS)
Developing a Digital National Library for Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education (NAS)
Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium (NAS)
Golf and Business Etiquette (500 term glossary for Tess Morael)
Global Perspectives for Local Action: Using TIMSS to Improve U.S. Mathematics and Science Education-Professional Development Guide (NAS)
Global Strategy for Children and Youth (World Bank)
High School Mathematics at Work (NAS)
Kidney and Bladder Cancer Progress Review Group Draft Report (National Cancer Institute)
Landscape and the State in Medieval Anatolia: Seljuk Gardens and the Pavilions of Alanya (Georgetown University)
Lung Cancer Progress Review Group Draft Report (National Cancer Institute)
The Military Health System in the Year 2025 (SRA International)
The MOMMY Trap (Julia Shields and Capitol Publications)
The National Science Education Standards (NAS)
National Science Resources Center Annual Report (4 years) (NSRC)
The Nature and Role of Algebra in the K-14 Curriculum (NAS and the NCTM)
Next America/Next Earth (work in progress with Andrew Euston and Mike Murtha)
NIH Meeting Summaries for the Office of the NIH Director (COPR, 2002-2007), Office of Research on Women's Health, Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and Virology Faculty
Overcoming Barriers to Community-Based Participatory Research (Cygnus Corp. for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
Pancreatic Cancer Progress Review Group Draft Report (National Cancer Institute)
Science and Technology for Children Curriculum Program (NSRC)
Selecting Instructional Materials (NAS)
Stomach/Esophageal Cancer Progress Review Group Draft Report (National Cancer Institute)
Time-Life Education Catalogue (Fall '97)
Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (NAS)
Web Development Kit (for District of Columbia government employees)
What Can We Learn? From the Survey of Mathematics and Science Opportunities (SMSO) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (NAS)
Whitaker Foundation Biochemical Engineering Educational Summit Workshops Report, 2000 (contributing writer/editor)
Working Toward a Continuum of Professional Learning Experiences for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (Research Monograph No. 17, NISE)

Videotape—

Wrote and co-produced 9-minute video to market Science and Technology for Children for the Smithsonian.