Lashay Wesley joins SciLine to connect journalists with scientific experts
Veteran broadcast reporter Lashay Wesley has joined the staff of SciLine as journalist support correspondent. She will be a key player running the organization’s flagship Expert Matching service, rapidly connecting journalists on deadline with articulate scientists.
SciLine is a philanthropically supported, editorially independent program of the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In addition to connecting journalists with expert sources, SciLine hosts media briefings on timely science news topics, trains journalists in the skills needed to incorporate evidence-based information into their reporting, and helps scientists become more confident speaking to the media about their research and expertise.
Lashay Wesley
Before joining SciLine, Wesley served as director of communications and storytelling at IllumiNative, an organization that supports Native peoples, and consults as a communications strategist, advising organizations on media engagement to advance their mission-driven goals.
Wesley is also an award-winning reporter. She has covered climate change, environmental policy, health, and social justice in newsrooms across the country for NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates.
“We are so excited to welcome Lashay to the SciLine team. When reporters reach out for help with a story, Lashay will often be the first person they interact with, said SciLine director Matt DeRienzo. “Her extensive background as a local journalist, and her experience using scientific evidence and expertise to improve her own reporting are the perfect foundation for this role.”
“I’m honored to join SciLine and support journalists who work every day to keep people informed.” Wesley said. “I look forward to helping amplify the voices of scientists and bring greater visibility to the research that helps people understand the world around them.”
Wesley is based in California. She can be reached at nwesley@aaas.org.
SciLine is a philanthropically supported nonprofit that helps journalists access, understand and incorporate more scientific evidence and expertise in their work and helps scientists more effectively communicate with the media about their research.
SciLine is based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which was founded in 1848. AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. SciLine is supported by a mix of individual donors and foundation funders, including the Quadrivium Foundation, Eucalyptus Foundation, MAC3 Impact Philanthropies, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Walton Family Foundation, Knight Foundation, Simons Foundation, Lyda Hill Foundation, and New Venture Fund.