Darlene Cavalier (Founder)
Darlene Cavalier founded the Science Cheerleader to unite the citizen’s desire to be heard and valued, the scientist’s growing interest in the public’s involvement, and government’s need to garner public support. The Science Cheerleader serves to get the conversation going, rally the troops, solicit views from all sides and change the tone of science and science policy in this country.
Dr. John Ohab (Captain of the Male Cheerleaders)
Neuroscientist, Internet radio host, blogger, student mentor, and captain of a competitive bocce ball team made of scientists, John Ohab, Ph.D. has taken a most non-traditional path through the world of science. Consistent among these experiences is a passion for communicating science to the general public and an ability to mobilize citizens to participate in the scientific process. John sees his work with Science Cheerleader as an opportunity to continue this adventure and experience first-hand the many conduits through which citizen scientists can impact society.
Bart Leahy (Event Manager)
Bart Leahy, Event Manager: Bart works with Darlene and John on the things no one ever sees: event logistics, grant proposals, press releases, talking points, operational plans, budgets, outreach materials, and other things that need doing behind the scenes for the Science Cheerleaders. This role fits his rather off-beat career as an English major with stints at Walt Disney World (merchandise, resorts, reservations, guest letters, IT, HR) and doing some technical writing for a NASA defense contractor NASA, space advocacy, blogging, and now SciCheer Gopher.
Sarah Chobot (Citizen Science Reporter)
With a curiosity rivaled only by her childhood heroine (Lois Lane), Sarah Chobot Hokanson has a love for discovery, whether it be uncovering the answer to a scientific question or getting to the end of a good book. Graduating with B.A. degrees in English and Chemistry (with distinction) from Boston University in 2005 and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2010, Sarah has since made a happy home in Ithaca, NY at Cornell University, where she is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
Occam’s Razor (Undefinable)
Occam’s Razor is certainly the least intelligent and most uncheerleader-like of all contributors to this site but makes up for that by being the most ardent in his love for all things cheerleader. He tends to live by the motto that if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, you should baffle them with (baloney). His contributions to the site will hopefully offer a humorous spin on STEM topics though he does wish to note that under no circumstances should he ever, ever be taken seriously.
John Collier (Science Tourist!)
John has had a love of science since he was a wee lad; he remembers happily licking and pasting stickers into stacks of Doubleday/Science Service “Science Program” books back during the late 1960s. One of those Science Program books had a picture of Meteor Crater and John (who still had a full head of hair at the time) thought that it would be really cool to visit that chunk of interplanetary impacted Arizona some day. There are folks who have described the crater “just another big hole in the ground.” But for John, visiting the crater for the first time (40 years later) it was a deeply emotional moment – the fulfillment of a life-long dream. Big hole in the ground, indeed!
Mike Lucek (Tech Guru)
Mike does his best to keep the Science Cheerleader site running smoothly. During the day, he teaches Computer Science to middle schoolers, provides web programming services, designs phone systems, researches voice synthesis and recognition, plugs in extension cords, and steps in wet paint. At night, he burns himself soldering, installing theatrical lighting equipment, and cooking in a cast iron skillet. He holds a degree in Philosophy from Bard College.
