When Chelsea Wald, a freelance science and environmental journalist, reflects on her experience at Metcalf Institute’s Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists in 2007, she values the connections she made with fellow reporters most.

One such friendship with alum Christine Dell’Amore led to the creation of the Science Newsbrief Award.  They came up with the idea during the Metcalf workshop and then established the award.  The annual recognition, given by the DC Science Writers Association, honors journalists who author well-written short science stories.  Wald was the producer of a 60-second science radio show at the time, and Dell’Amore was writing for a wire service.

“We were both putting all of our creative energy and knowledge into these short stories that were really hard to write, but were never going to win an award,” said Wald.  “We thought it would be very good morale to acknowledge this type of work.”

Recently, Wald accomplished one of her career goals, one she calls “a labor of love.”  She and her husband recently authored a new book, The Traveler’s Guide to Astronomy and Space in the Southwest, published via for Kindle.

“I hope the book will help people connect with science, the night sky and the desert on a personal level,” said Wald.  Some proceeds from the book will go towards reducing light pollution worldwide.

Wald currently writes for various science publications from her home in Vienna, Austria, where she has lived with her husband for more than two years.

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