Shari Leventhal: Pitching in to Support CSE

Abstract

Having worked at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) for 20 years, Shari Leventhal has seen a lot of change in scholarly societies and scientific publishing. Beginning in the Communications department at ASN, Shari became a Managing Editor in 2012 for the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) and then the Executive Editor of the ASN portfolio of journals in March 2019. As she begins her term as the President of the Council of Science Editors, Shari spoke with Science Editor about her goals for CSE this year, the importance of accessibility, and the need to sometimes step up and get things done. Science Editor: How did you get involved in scientific editing and publishing, and what career path led to your current position? Shari Leventhal: My background was in communications, and I was working in public relations for ASN, but I didn’t really love the pressure of being put on the spot. My supervisor at the time was looking for a second Managing Editor to assume oversight for the clinical journal, and believed that my skill set would be the perfect fit to manage the journal. When she approached me with the opportunity, I was intrigued. I love managing multiple projects at once and improving efficiency. Additionally, I had worked with the Editor in Chief previously and liked him quite a bit. I thought that if I was going to move into scholarly publishing, he would be a great EIC to work with. SE: What […]