NUBC 2010 Organizers

Rachel Krell, Chair

Major: Science, Technology, and Society
Class Year: Senior
After graduation: I plan to attend Dental School.
Comments about the conference: I am excited to establish an undergraduate voice on important bioethical issues.

Hannah Calkins, Co-Chair

Major: Religion and Creative Writing
Class Year: Senior
After graduation: Uncertain, but looking forward to figuring it out!
Comments about the conference: This conference is an opportunity to engage critical undergraduate voices in a national dialogue about some of today's most urgent, exciting and complex issues. It has been a privilege to help make it happen, and I am confident that the conference will be a part of a spur to necessary progress.

Milo Smith, Finance Director

Major: Biology
Class Year: Senior
After graduation: Entering graduate school in Neuroscience.
Comments about the conference: The public finds many bioethical questions extremely contentious. When a bioethical issue gets exposure, the ensuing pundit-professional-public debate is often a tragic display of distorted facts, personal attacks, and poorly reasoned arguments that involves very little progress towards consensus. I am confident the 2010 NUBC will help move this dialogue past distortion and fear to a more coherent conversation that will (hopefully) result in better policy.

Arjun Dhillon, Media Director

Major: Biology
Class Year: Senior
After graduation: Graduate school for Science Media and Policy.
Comments about the conference: Modern scientists need to be educators, policymakers, journalists, and social advocates. As scientific research and medicine become more specialized, the gap between science and the outside world widens, and the public perception of science becomes increasingly distorted. Its my hope that the 2010 NUBC will help inspire young scientists to work on bridging this gap.

Jason Schumacher, National Public Relations Director

Major: History
Class Year: Senior
Post-graduation plans: I hope to enter a PhD program in American History
Comments about the conference: I am hopeful that the first National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference on the west coast will foster a spirit of cooperation amongst the academic institutions in the Pacific Northwest and contribute to the essential heath care discussion, which affects each and every one of us.

Sean McCotter, Accounts and Budget Manager

Major: Economics
Class Year: Senior
After graduation: Before going to graduate school I will be spending a year in rural Kenya working with locals to help increase production of African dairy products. I have a passion for dairy farming, a passion that burns deep down inside of me. It is this burning dairy passion that I want to share with the impoverished people in Kenya and beyond.

Kayla Tuteur, Communications Director

Major: STS, Minor: German
Class Year: Junior
After graduation: I would like to continue to pursue the field of bioethics, and learn more about policy and decision making in the sciences.
Comments about the conference: It has been a great experience to be a part of the NUBC organizing committee and to have the opportunity to see how many differing perspectives there are on every bioethical issue.

Maresa Jenson, Dining Coordinator

Major: Science, Technology, and Society; Economics
Class Year: Senior
After graduation: Career in Environmental Management.
Comments about the conference: It is important to foster an environment for progressive discourse on bioethical issues. The conference will be a meaningful place for this discussion as the debate continues over healthcare and policy.

Jesse Northrup, Speaker Coordinator

Major: Psychology and Religion
Class Year: Junior
After Graduation: Graduate program in Psychology or Bioethics
Comments about the conference: I feel truly privileged to help plan a conference that is going to bring together the bright ideas of fellow undergraduates and the engaging theories of ethical experts. I hope the communication inspired at Puget Sound this year will help generate the next wave of dedicated and unique bioethicists, so we can be better prepared and more informed for the undoubted controversial issues that lie around the corner.

Erica Verdusco, Closing ceremony coordinator

Major: Biology
Class Year: Senior
After graduation: Physician Assistant program
Comments about the conference: I am thoroughly excited to be a part of the planning for this year's conference! This is a fantastic opportunity for teaching, learning, and discussing the important issues that we, as a society, are currently facing. It has truly been great to work with such a wonderful and dedicated team.

Tabitha Phillips, Closing ceremony coordinator

Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Class Year: Senior
After Graduation: Graduate school for Public Health Genetics.
Comments about the conference: This conference is an amazing opportunity for the undergrads to voice their opinions on issues that will be very real and pertinent to the world they will enter post-graduation. I am so excited to be working with a really great group of people who are so dedicated to ensuring our views and opinions have a venue to be expressed.

Jed Hafner, Program Coordinator

Major: Philosophy
Class Year: Senior
After Graduation: Pursue a PhD in Philosophy
Comments about the conference: It has been great to meet other students interested in bioethics and work with them to bring together like-minded students, faculty, and professionals from across the country.

Noah Brod, Bioethics Bowl Coordinator

Major: Science, Technology, and Society
Class Year: Senior
After Graduation: I intent to pursue further education in the field of engineering as well a year spent abroad undertaking research or an internship.
Comments about the conference: The undergraduate voice is often absent in important public and academic discussions. This is unfortunate, since many of the policies and ideas of the future will be born from the viewpoints developed by today's undergraduate. The NUBC is an excellent opportunity to get involved in this discussion.

Suzanne Holland, Faculty Advisor

BA, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1978
MA, Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, 1991
PhD, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, 1997

Dr. Holland teaches in the area of religious ethics and values, including bioethics, science and technology, religion, and Gender Studies. Her research interests range from the ethics of human genetics and stem cell research, biotechnology and commodification, to broader issues in religion, culture and public policy.

Kristin Johnson, Faculty Advisor

BA, University of Washington, 1997
MA, PhD, Oregon State University, 2000, 2003

Dr. Johnson's research focuses on the history of the life sciences, especially the naturalist tradition in the 19th and 20th centuries. In her research, she examines how changes in the intellectual, political and cultural environments in which naturalists work have influenced their research, institutions, and relations with society. The broader implications of her work are that this history helps us understand the current status, problems, and successes of the life sciences, particularly as biologists endeavor to adapt disciplines founded in very distinct historical contexts to modern concerns, such as biodiversity conservation.