Meet the Coaches

Our Coaches come from varied science backgrounds and all share a passion for improving science communication.

Click here to make an appointment with one of our Fellows.

Abby Guthman

Graduate student

Abby Guthmann is a PhD student with the UMN lion center in the lab of Craig Packer. She studies the ecological interactions of large vertebrate species in East Africa, with a specific focus on how people and their cattle fit into the Kenyan ecosystem. Much of her research relies on the work of citizen scientists, and she has extensive experience working with members of the public. She has a special interest in the community aspects of science and loves discussing scientific ideas with enthusiastic community members. She enjoys engaging with others on a variety of scientific disciplines. Abby is happy to work with you on any writing, oral presentations, or projects you may want to discuss! She especially welcomes public speaking and outreach-minded folks.

Abbey Robinson

Graduate student

Abbey is Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics PhD student in Professor Kate Adamala’s lab where she works on engineering and constructing communication systems for synthetic minimal cells. Similar to her work in lab, Abbey would like to work with students in science at the University of Minnesota on their written communication skills. As someone who once hated English class, writing has become one of Abbey’s favorite things about science, and she would like to help other students find a passion for writing as well.

Judee Sharon

Graduate student

Judee Sharon is a PhD candidate in the labs of Kate Adamala and Aaron Engelhart. She builds new functionality into cell-free systems and synthetic cells to more effectively understand how living cells communicate. After conducting research for the government, industry, and academia, Judee has had a lot of practice in presenting her research through talks and poster sessions. She understands that being able to explain your work to someone else (and getting them excited) is motivating for you as a scientist and helps clarify your own ideas and goals. She believes that anyone can deliver an engaging presentation about their work within or across disciplines. Judee enjoys the rigors of public speaking, so she is enthusiastic about helping you organize and practice your scientific talk or poster..

Reed Grumann

Undergraduate student

Reed Grumann is a senior studying microbiology and political science who has been with the Science Communication (SciComm) Lab since his junior year. Previously, Reed spent a semester completing literature research on extremophile cyanobacteria, and he wants to return to the wet-lab setting in graduate school. Reed has also worked on several political campaigns and in multiple public offices. In addition to his current involvement in the SciComm Lab, Reed is assisting with research that focuses on public perception of topics in the biological sciences, namely, vaccines, climate change, and evolution.

Reed joined the Science Communication Lab in September of 2019 with the aim of developing his writing and advocacy skills in the context of science policy and research. While he hopes to gain further experience in wet-lab settings, Reed also wants to encourage scientists to engage the public and policy makers in their outreach and communication efforts. During his time on political campaigns and working in public offices, Reed recognized the gap that exists between scientists and policy makers and has since been an advocate for increasing the accessibility of science, developing science-based policy, and making science more equitable.

Kyle Wong

Undergraduate student

Kyle is a junior intending to double major in Plant and Microbial Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. He plans to obtain a PhD in either microbiology or ecology and engage in science advocacy and outreach.

Joining the speech team in high school sparked Kyle’s interest in writing and communication. Since then, he’s written several persuasive speeches, stories, and successful summer research applications (REUs). Currently, Kyle is a writing intern for the Science Communication Lab and a communications intern for Market Science and the College of Biological Sciences.

Kyle believes science is best portrayed as a story; rearranging the details and points into a story structure helps convey your message to the audience. He also understands the importance of word choice and sentence structure in a story. Using his writing experience and knowledge, Kyle will help you become a better storyteller. He looks forward to helping you with your essays, lab reports, personal statements, or other writing pieces.

Caroline Frischmon

Science Communication Training Coordinator

Caroline remembers feeling intimidated the first time she tried to write a research proposal as an undergrad. She didn’t have the right tools to get her first one funded, but after that, Caroline earned two undergraduate research (UROP) grants and participated in two NSF-funded summer research programs (REU). She learned that proposal writing is far less daunting when you have the right resources, which she is happy to share with you now.

As an amatuer science TikToker, Caroline also loves creative sci comm projects that engage new audiences in STEM. She is the Science Communication Training Coordinator in SCL and leads workshops focused on many of the storytelling and data visualization tools used in coaching appointments.  She looks forward to working with you on your application materials (UROP, REU, grad school, etc.), poster, lab report, or public engagement project.

Lance Janssen

 Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Lance Janssen is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the College of Biological Sciences. He started working for CBS in 2014 and focuses on student and prospective student communications, mass email messaging and strategy, website management, and branding for the College. Lance’s interest focuses on strategic communications and crafting ways for people to better share their messages to reach intended audiences with clarity and precision. 

Claire Wilson

Science Writer

Claire joined the College of Biological Sciences Communications team in the summer of 2019. With an MS in ecology, she has experience refining manuscripts, research presentations, and posters. Her research focus was in community ecology. Over the past several years, she’s focused on writing for nontechnical audiences including publications with BIO magazine, the Connected blog, and Research Briefs.