ILRI Emeritus Fellow Susan MacMillan led public awareness and advocacy commuications work at ILRI for nearly 33 years. Her career at ILRI (and formerly ILRAD), lasted from October 1988 through April 2021. She started with science writing for ILRAD and, beginning in 1995, expanded her communications work at ILRI to include public awareness and advocacy work in print, web, news and social media and film. Susan has a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley. Before moving to ILRI, she worked as head of the ICIPE Science Press at Nairobi’s International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE); as an editor for Stellagraphics, publishers of Kenya’s Weekly Review magazine; as associate editor for Fine Print and University Publishing, two quarterly reviews, one for the arts of the book, based in San Francisco, and the other for university press books, based in Berkeley, USA. In the mid-1970s she taught English at Nyakach and Kapropita girls' secondary schools, in Kenya’s Nyanza and Baringo districts, respectively. Her interests lie at the interface of literary and science writing, how each informs, and resonates in, the other, e.g., how cultural assumptions drive science and scientific paradigms infiltrate lay discourse.
Previous employment
1995–2021: Science, awareness and advocacy c ommunications, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya
1988–1994: Science writer, International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD), Nairobi, Kenya
1986–1988: Head of ICIPE Science Press, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya
1984–1986: Editor, Stellagraphics, Nairobi, Kenya, publishers of Weekly Review, Kenya’s leading political and financial review, edited by Hilary Ng’weno
1981–1983: Associate editor, promotion and advertising Manager, Fine Print, A Quarterly Review for the Arts of the Book, San Francisco, California—a letterpress journal reviewing the typography, printing, paper making, bookbinding and graphic arts of limited-edition books printed by hot metal type and published by fine presses worldwide
1980–1982: Associate editor, advertising and business manager, University Publishing, Berkeley, California—a quarterly review of scholarly books in all disciplines published by the 100-plus university presses of the English-speaking world
Copy editor and proofreader, Wilsted & Taylor Publishing Services, Oakland, California—typesetters and designers of scholarly books for the University of California Press; Scolar Press, London; and North Point Press, California
Copy editor and manuscript evaluator, Harper & Row Publishing Company, San Francisco, California
1975–1978: Head of the English Department, Kapropita Girls’ Secondary School, Kabarnet, Kenya
1973–1974: Head of the English Department, Nyakach Girls’ Secondary School, Sondu, Kenya
Areas of expertise: writing, editing, information design
1995–2021: Wrote and designed ILRI’s public awareness materials, including institutional blogging and social media engagement, multimedia products (videos, slide presentations, posters), annual reports and newsletters, and products for news media (op-eds, backgrounders, releases)
1988–1994: Wrote, designed and typeset ILRAD's scientific annual reports, annual highlights, quarterly newsletters and other main institutional publications
1986–1988: Editor of ICIPE’s annual scientific reports, newsletters and proceedings
