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PLOS Board Appointments

 

After a careful search and much consideration, we are excited to share with our community five new appointments we’ve made to the PLOS Board. This is a pivotal time for PLOS, and as you’ll see, each member will bring us a different perspective, which will enable us to expand the ways in which we serve our scientific communities.

Our new Board Chair is Alastair Adam, currently Co-CEO of innovative digital textbook publisher, FlatWorld, who brings to the role not only a strong understanding of publishing – including scientific journals – but also his business savvy and strategic skills. Alastair joined the Board effective November 1 and assumed the Chair role on January 1, 2019, replacing our longtime Board Chair, Gary Ward (more on Gary a little later).

We also added Dr. Simine Vazire, who is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UC Davis where her research focuses on one of the oldest and most fundamental questions in psychology: how do we know ourselves? In 2017, she was awarded a Leamer-Rosenthal Prize for Open Social Science in recognition of her efforts to advance reproducibility, openness and credibility in the social sciences. She held a previous role as a senior editor of Collabra: Psychology and Editor-in-Chief of Social Psychological and Personality Science. Her scientific and editorial expertise bring a well-rounded and diverse perspective to our Board, and will help to ensure that working scientists retain a strong voice on our Board.

Dr. Victoria Coleman joined the Board in May 2018. She is currently the Chief Technology Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation where she sets the organization’s technical roadmap for the evolution, development, and delivery of core platforms and architecture.  Victoria brings valuable technology experience to the Board at a time when PLOS, like many mid-size publishers, faces important and difficult choices about its technology infrastructure. Victoria serves in several advisory roles including the Board of the Santa Clara University Department of Computer Engineering and as Senior Advisor to the Director of the University of California Berkeley’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society.

We also wanted to ensure that we maintain deep experience in PLOS’ core biomedical science fields, and we are very lucky to have Professor Keith Yamamoto of UCSF agree to join us (effective February 1, 2019). Keith is both a highly regarded scientist running his own research lab and has extraordinary experience in the policy arena focusing much of his career on science practice, education, communication, and advocacy including strong and early support for OA. He currently serves as UCSF’s first vice chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy.

Last but by no means least, Suresh Bhat joined us on November 1, 2018 as incoming Chair of the Finance Committee. Suresh brings to PLOS not only deep financial knowledge but also experience at a top research university and a passion for education. Suresh has headed finance programs for a number of financial institutions. He is currently CFO and Treasurer at the Hewlett Foundation, prior to that, he was CFO at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley (and is a Haas and Cal alum).

I would be remiss if I did not take the opportunity here to express my heartfelt thanks to both Gary Ward, our now former Board Chair, and Mike Eisen, one of the co-founders of PLOS, both of whom left the Board in 2018.  In his seven years as Board Chair, Gary has led the Board with passion, wisdom and integrity, and has been both counsel and friend to many of us in the organization. Mike is of course irreplaceable in every way. His vision, zeal and dedication are a big reason that PLOS not only exists but has had such a deep impact on scientific communication. I have no doubt that Mike will continue to be one of PLOS’ greatest advocates (and yes, let us know when we get it wrong – as good friends do!).

While goodbyes are never easy, we are excited to embark on this new chapter for PLOS with the fresh wisdom of so many exceptional, dedicated individuals. Please join us in welcoming our new Board members!

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