Why do we work for a mission-driven, not-for-profit publishing company?

We’re here for researchers, not for profits | Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) is a not-for-profit publisher of scientific journals. We invest our profits in ways to help researchers make sure their science is easy to discover, use, and share. Why? It’s our mission! How? With people! 

Elaine Stott | CEO

I love working for CSP where our entire reason for existing is to enable researchers from Canada and the rest of the world to publish their research in our excellent science journals. I came to work at CSP almost a year ago after having spent most of my career working for large commercial publishing companies.

It makes such a difference to me, knowing that our profits will be used to enable us to grow and develop our publishing services for researchers—rather than provide a return to shareholders. At the moment, we are using our profits to transform CSP into an Open Access publishing company over the next few years. It’s an exciting and challenging time.

I am also very much enjoying working with colleagues who are inspired by the mission of CSP. Many colleagues have backgrounds in scientific research, and/or they have a deep commitment to science communication. We are a great team—and a few of them explain their motivation here.

Michael Donaldson | Open Access Program Manager

My earliest experience with CSP was as an author, having published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology and Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences during my graduate studies. Throughout my studies I developed a fascination with how scholarly research is communicated and disseminated and this interest led to me pursuing a career in scholarly publishing at CSP in 2014.

I joined CSP because of its stellar reputation in the research community, its strong legacy as a premiere scholarly publisher in Canada, and the fact that it is an independent and not-for-profit scholarly publisher. The scholarly publishing landscape has undergone remarkable changes in recent years and CSP is taking bold steps to establish itself as an Open Access publisher. I am passionate about Open Science and motivated to contribute to CSP’s Open Access growth over the next few years. With the help of our incredible team at CSP, I welcome the next phase of CSP’s journey to becoming a leader in Open Access publishing.

Tanisha McCarty-Fields | Human Resources Administrator

Having experience working for two other not-for-profits, I found that I no longer fit in for-profit environments. CSP has goals and values that I can appreciate, believe in, and am happy to say I am a part of. As CSP transforms to Open Access, so far this journey has been exciting and challenging but equally rewarding. There is something about removing barriers for both our people and our journals that inspires a passion inside of me.

As a team we are really working together to remain motivated and build stronger bonds amongst departments. At CSP we are striving to be an employee-focused organization that offers flexibility, promotes wellness, and encourages professional development as we continue on the Open Access journey. I am thrilled to be a part of the transition.

Natalie Sopinka | Communications Specialist

As a former, full-time researcher, creativity had a role in everything I did. But creativity made its mark when I got to communicate the research I was doing. Writing poetry and puns about fish biology made learning and sharing new knowledge more enjoyable and meaningful. At CSP there are no shortage of opportunities to practice creativity.

As an academic-adjacent industry, scholarly publishing is a space where ideas to advance science communication can be imagined and actioned. We’ve made bingo cards for virtual conferences, launched SciArt contests, and produced podcast-versions of papers.

As a not-for-profit and community-first publisher, CSP is an organization where building relationships matters. The learning never ends for me when each post for the CSP Blog is an opportunity to get to know researchers and what matters to them. I joined CSP to be part of creative teams that recognize the incredible work of research communities—and are helping to maximize the impact of that work.

Alistair Coulthard | Editorial Operations Team Lead

My journey with CSP began as a part-time Editorial Assistant for the journal Genome. At the time I was in graduate school, training as a Drosophila geneticist, with no formal training in scholarly publishing, and I had just started pulling together my first scientific paper.

Learning firsthand about scholarly publishing from multiple perspectives at the same time made me realize how critical a role a publisher plays in the advancement of science. Scientific discoveries cannot benefit the world if they are not put through rigorous peer review and made accessible through a trusted publisher. That realization ignited my passion for scholarly publishing. I have been fortunate to be able to serve with CSP to defend the integrity of the peer review process and work to keep science accessible as we transition into an Open Access publisher.

Melanie Slavitch | Peer Review Manager

I came to CSP 4 years ago with a pure publishing background, having worked at a society on medical journals. At the time, I wasn’t looking for a change, but a former colleague urged me to consider a role that CSP had posted. The role itself appealed, but so did the diverse suite of journals, CSP’s not-for-profit status, and the opportunity to effect change at a not-too-big, not-too-small organization dedicated to continuous improvement.

When the Canadian Journal of Zoology published an article on a new species of jumping slug (Skade’s jumping slug, Hemphillia skadei), it seemed like a sign. (Jumping slugs!!!)

I love working at CSP. Helping researchers navigate peer review to arrive at strong, interesting, published science is inherently rewarding. It has also been rewarding to develop policies that support and recognize broader participation in research and publishing, from Indigenous and community research partners to non-academic reviewers. Finally, it is a real treat getting to work with similarly motivated colleagues: science enthusiasts with whom I can geek out over industry developments and opportunities.

I’m excited to continue advancing open science, transparency, integrity, and equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility at CSP and in the research landscape more generally.

Updated August 4, 2022