Authors

Lee Traynor is an Australian-born author and lecturer who is an avid explorer of the New Zealand bush. On retirement, he created the Lee Traynor Foundation, which helps skeptical groups in Australia and New Zealand financially.

Lewis Jones is a London-based free-lance editor and writer.

Linda Bryder is Professor of History at Auckland University and author of A History of the 'Unfortunate Experiment' at National Women's Hospital, Auckland University Press, 2009

Linda Seebach is the editorial page editor of the Valley Times (Pleasanton) and San Ramon Valley Times (Danville).

Lloyd Fricker is professor of molecular pharmacology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.

Loretta Marron is a science graduate with a business background, was Australian Skeptic of the Year for 2007, and described her experiences at the 2009 NZ Skeptics conference. She edits the website www.healthinformation.com.au Loretta's undercover operation for ACA can be viewed on YouTube, in a clip titled "Loretta Marron busts a Cancer Quack".

Lucy Dunlop is an office manager at Bridget Williams Books, an award-winning independent New Zealand publisher.

Malcolm Wood was for many years the editor of the Massey University Alumni Association magazine.

Originally from Canada, Margaret Coe settled in New Zealand over 25 years ago. Until recently she worked as a scientist at the Liggins Research Institute, developing analytical methods for mixtures using chromatography-mass spectrometry. Margaret has a wide range of interests, and is a member of many groups including Forest & Bird, Greenpeace, Amnesty International and the Metabolomics Society.

Margaret Mahy is a renowned writer of children's literature.

Mark Fletcher is a teacher and team leader at Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, and has previously been the president of the NZ Humanists.

Dr Mark Quigley is a Senior Lecturer in Active Tectonics in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. His peer-reviewed publications pertaining to the Canterbury earthquakes can be obtained from www.drquigs.com

Professor Martin Manning was the Founding Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute at Victoria University of Wellington, established to build better interactions between science, policy and society on climate change issues.

Martin van Beynen is a New Zealand writer, print journalist and former columnist for The Press in Christchurch.

Martin Wainwright is the former northern editor for The Guardian

Dr Matt McGlone is a Research Associate at Landcare Research.

Matt Ridley is a British journalist and author who previously worked for The Economist magazine for nine years. Now a freelance writer and author.

Matthew Gerrie received his PhD in Psychology in 2007 from Victoria University for examining false memories for events. He is now a research fellow in the School of Psychology at Victoria, and manager of the Innocence Project New Zealand. Innocence Projects have been established worldwide to investigate possible cases of wrongful conviction. In 2008, Matthew was awarded a Marsden Grant to study how eyewitnesses choose faces from lineups. In 2009, he won the 'Science in Our Society' category of the MacDiarmid Young Scientists of the Year Awards for his work on eyewitness identifications.

Matthew McCrudden is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Pennsylvania State University in the USA. He has a Ph.D. in learning and technology and an M.A. in cognition, learning, and development. He has taught at the University of North Florida and Victoria University of Wellington.

Melissa Bather studied Applied Mathematics and Statistics.

Michelle Pountney is a health reporter for the Herald Sun in Australia

Mike Houlding is a Tauranga skeptic who's growing old along with the rest of us...

Dr Mike Joy has developed bio-assessment tools used by many regional councils and consultants, and has published scientific papers in many fields from artificial intelligence and data mining to the freshwater ecology of sub-Antarctic islands. He has been working for two decades at the interface of science and policy in New Zealand with a goal of strengthening connections between science, policy and real outcomes to address the multiple environmental issues facing New Zealand.

Mike Palin is an Otago University geologist.

Moerangi Vercoe is a communications adviser of Ngāti Awa and Te Arawa descent.

Programme Leader - Addictions

Dr Nikki Turner is a general practitioner, Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC) and a senior lecturer in the Division of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Auckland University.

Nikos Petousis is the Greek Honorary Consul in New Zealand

Paul Docherty is the coordinator of the Waikato Branch of the NZARH, and works in Information Technology as a Business Analyst.

Paul Kurtz was an American skeptic and secular humanist, and has been called "the father of secular humanism".

Paul R. McHugh, MD, is Henry Phipps Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore.

Peter Münz is Professor Emeritus of History at Victoria University.

Peter Sharp is a retired industrial chemist with a life-long interest in astronomy and related subjects.

Phil Garnock-Jones worked as a scientist at the DSIR Botany Division at Lincoln, and was later the chair in Botany at Victoria University.

Philip Simpson was a botanist with the New Zealand Department of Conservation

Philippa Stevenson is an agricultural journalist.

Mary Louisa "Polly" Toynbee is a British journalist and writer. She has been a columnist for The Guardian newspaper since 1998.