Amber Dance

Amber Dance is an award-winning freelance science journalist based in Southern California. She is a contributor at Knowable Magazine, program director for the New Horizons in Science Briefings at the Sciencewriters annual conference for the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, and an instructor teaching Science Writing I for UCLA Extension.

After earning a doctorate in biology, Amber Dance re-trained in journalism as a way to engage her broad interest in science and share her enthusiasm with readers. She was a AAAS Mass Media Fellow at the Los Angeles Times science desk and attended the well-known UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program.

She mainly writes about life sciences, but also enjoys getting out of her comfort zone with topics such as desert astrophysics or glacial archaeology. She has written for many outlets in her career, for audiences ranging from high schoolers to scientific experts, and was a columnist for the LA Times Health section from 2010 to 2011. During the pandemic, she penned the “Coronavirus Files” newsletter for the Center for Health Journalism at USC.

Her work has received awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Writers, and has been named a “Top Pick” by Best Shortform Science Writing. She has also received honorable mentions or runner-up honors from ASJA, Folio Magazine, the Hastings Center, and the Bricker Award for Science Writing in Medicine.

Professional service is an important part of Dance’s career. In 2014, she shared in the Diane McGurgan Service Award from the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) for “going beyond the call of duty” as co-chair of the Awards Committee. She has also served on NASW’s Education and Programs Committees. Locally, Dance is a co-founder of the SoCal Science Writing networking group. She co-organized regional conferences with SoCal Science Writing in 2018 and 2019, and served as President from 2022 to 2024.

She regularly speaks to groups about her transition from scientist to science writer.