About Us

New York City Skeptics is an all-volunteer, 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization founded in 2007. Our goals include the following:

  • Promote critical thinking, skeptical inquiry, and science education among the general public.
  • Act as a resource to the media and the general public regarding pseudoscientific and paranormal claims.
  • Encourage fellowship among skeptics and like-minded individuals.


Board of Directors

 

Michael Feldman
President		 Michael's introduction to skepticism began in high school when his father bought him a copy of Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World. In college he interned at the James Randi begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting Educational Foundation, and he has remained involved with the JREF and skeptical activism ever since. He is a founding member of NYC Skeptics and in his spare time works as an attorney in New York City.


Jamy Ian Swiss
Vice President		 Jamy Ian Swiss is a magician, author, and public speaker with more than 20 years of skeptical activism experience. A founding member of the National Capital Area Skeptics, he has been a member of the board of NCAS since 1987. Jamy has spoken and performed across the U.S. on behalf of the Center For Inquiry; and he has presented or performed at all five of James Randi's "The Amazing Meeting." Jamy is thrilled have been part of the creation of the New York City Skeptics, and privileged to serve as its first Vice-President.


Benny Pollak
Secretary		 Benny Pollak realized he had always been a passionate skeptic in 2005 after listening to a "Skepticality" podcast interview with James Randi. Passionate about critical thinking, he found skepticism very much in synch with his interest in science and Objectivism. In 2007 he started the New York Skeptics Meetup. It was there that he met a fellow Skeptic who had bigger ambitions. Soon after that, with two other committed skeptics who shared the vision, he became a co-founder of the NYC Skeptics. Benny makes a living as a V.P. in Equities Technology at Barclays Capital in New York City.


Page Van Meter
Treasurer 		Page Van Meter is the editor of the Gotham Skeptic blog, the official blog of NYC Skeptics. She received her PhD in Zoology and has published several articles in academic journals on the topic of hormones and behavior. As a researcher and educator, Page is particularly concerned about the state of science understanding and appreciation among the public. She has become more active with skepticism and with the skeptical community as a means of promoting science education, critical thinking, and greater understanding of the scientific process. Page works for Columbia University.


Matt McCarthy		 Matt McCarthy has been active within the skeptical community since 2001. In mid-2007 he became a co-founder of NYC Skeptics and was elected Board Treasurer later that year. Matt's previous experience with non-profit development was in the mid 90's when he served as the Fundraising Manager of the Hartford Stage Company, a Tony award winning regional theater in Hartford, CT. Matt is currently an Associate Vice President of Fixed Income Development for Thomson Reuters and is owner of McCarthy Technologies, a software development firm. He and his wife live in Williamsburg Brooklyn.

Massimo Pigliucci Massimo Pigliucci is a Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York-Lehman College. His research is concerned with philosophy of science, the relationship between science and philosophy, and the relationship between science and religion. He received a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Ferrara in Italy, a PhD in Botany from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He has published over a hundred technical papers, several books, and pens the “Rationally Speaking” blog. Professor Pigliucci has been awarded the prestigious Dobzhansky Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution and elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science “for fundamental studies of genotype by environmental interactions and for public defense of evolutionary biology from pseudoscientific attack.” In the areas of outreach and critical thinking, Prof. Pigliucci has published in national magazines such as Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, Philosophy Now, The Philosopher’s Magazine, Secular Nation and American Atheist magazine. He has also been elected as a Consultant for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.


Board of Advisors

The NYC Skeptics Board of Advisors is comprised of leading skeptics who share our commitment to the promotion of skepticism, critical thinking, and science education.

 

James Randi		 James Randi has an international reputation as a magician and escape artist, but today he is best known as the world's most tireless investigator and demystifier of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including a Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1986.


He is the author of numerous books, including The Truth About Uri Geller, The Faith Healers, Flim-Flam!, and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. His lectures and television appearances have delighted — and vexed — audiences around the world.

In 1996, the James Randi Educational Foundation was established to further Randi's work. Randi's long-standing challenge to psychics now stands as a $1,000,000 prize administered by the Foundation. It remains unclaimed.
 

Michael Shermer		 Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, the host of the Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University.

Dr. Shermer received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University (1991).
 

John Rennie		 John Rennie is a science writer who served as the editor in chief of Scientific American magazine between 1994 and 2009. During his tenure the magazine twice won National Magazine Awards for editorial excellence with the single-topic issues What You Need to Know about Cancer (Sept. 1996) and A Matter of Time (Sept. 2002). His 2002 article, “15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense,” is one of the most read and downloaded articles in the history of www.ScientificAmerican.com.

In 2000 Rennie was the recipient of the Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science, bestowed by the Council of Scientific Society Presidents. In Sept. 2003 the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies honored him with its Navigator Award for distinguished service in support of national science and technology policy. He serves as a trustee of the James Randi Educational Foundation. Rennie is also frequent commentator on scientific matters for television and radio.

John Rennie presented the inaugural lecture in the New York City Skeptics Public Lecture Series, which is available for download here.
 

Dr. John Snyder		 John Dr. Snyder is Medical Director of the teaching clinic at Baystate Children’s Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine. Previously, Dr. Snyder was Chief of the Section of General Pediatrics and Medical Director of Pediatric Ambulatory Care at Saint Vincent's Hospital in New York City. Since 1994, Dr. Snyder has been active in pediatric resident and medical student education with a particular interest in evidence based pediatrics. His main area of interest is medical myth and the ways in which parents utilize information in making medical decisions for their children. One area of focus has been vaccine myth, and he lectures frequently on this subject in both academic and community settings. In addition to his work with NYC Skeptics and contributions to the Gotham Skeptic blog, Dr. Snyder is a contributor to the Science Based Medicine blog and is a BeWell Expert. Dr. Snyder graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and completed his residency training in pediatrics at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He is board certified in Pediatrics, and is a Fellow of The American Academy of Pediatrics.

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