The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) has been ably run by Genie Scott since back in the days, well, the days when she started the damn thing up, if I recall correctly. But Genie retires at the end of this year.
Ann Reid will take over as NCSE Executive Director on January 2nd, 2014.
From the NCSE:
As a molecular biologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, she co-led the team that sequenced the 1918 flu virus—an effort that was hailed as “a watershed event for influenza researchers worldwide.” She then served as a Senior Program Officer at the National Research Council’s Board on Life Sciences for five years and then, most recently, as director of the American Academy of Microbiology. In both roles she oversaw major efforts aimed at communicating science to the public. And as its director, Reid oversaw all of the operations of the American Academy of Microbiology, from coordinating scientific research and publishing technical reports to communicating with the public and organizing dozens of scientific meetings.
There’s a post here with more details.
I think this is a great choice and I for one welcome our new Science Education Overlord!
(It would be casting a shadow on the new regime to mention how much I’ll miss Genie, so I won’t say anything about that at this time.)