Susan Gerbic (born 1962) is an American studio photographer who became known as a

scientific skepticism Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refe ...

activist, mostly for exposing people claiming to be

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

s. A columnist for ''

Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: ''The Magazine for Science and Reason''. Mission statement and goals Daniel Loxton, writing in ...

'', she is the co-founder of Monterey County Skeptics and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Early life and education

The youngest of three children, Gerbic was raised as a Southern Baptist in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

. Her father was born in 1918 in

Euclid, Ohio Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner ring suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 49,692. History The City of Euclid was originally a part of Euclid Township, first map ...

, to parents from

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

; he served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and after the war went to live in Salinas.Gerbic, Susan (March 2, 2018)
"Skeptical Adventures in Europe, Part 5"
''

''. Gerbic attended Freemont Elementary, El Sausal Junior High School, School details. Susan Gerbic Voice.ogg. and

Alisal High School Alisal High School is an American public high school opened in 1965 and located in Salinas, California. Alisal's school colors are green, black and white. Their mascot is Tommy the Trojan. Demographics Currently, there are about 3300 students ...

in Salinas, graduating in 1980. She became an atheist in her junior year. After high school, she studied at

Hartnell College Hartnell College is a public community college in Salinas, California. Established in 1920 as Salinas Junior College, Hartnell is one of 115 schools that constitute the California Community Colleges, one of the three higher education systems in ...

, also in Salinas, obtaining AAs in general studies in 1993 and history in 1998, while working and raising two sons. In 2002, she was awarded a BA in Social & Behavioral Studies by

California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and ...

Career and activism

Photography

Gerbic worked at Lifetouch, a portrait studio in

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

in the

Northridge Mall Northridge Mall is a shopping mall in Salinas, California, the largest in Monterey County. Located off Highway 101 near Boronda Road and North Main Street in the northern part of the city, the single-story structure encompasses of retail space. ...

in Salinas, from 1982 for 34 years, including as manager. She retired in 2016 when the studio closed.

Guerrilla Skeptics

Gerbic first read ''Skeptical Inquirer'' when she was 33, and in 2000, she attended the

Skeptic's Toolbox The Skeptic's Toolbox is an annual four-day workshop devoted to scientific skepticism. It was formed by psychologist and now-retired University of Oregon professor Ray Hyman, has been held every August since 1992, and is sponsored by the Committ ...

workshop in Eugene, Oregon. In 2009, she went to Mexico on an "Amazing Adventure" cruise organized by the Canadian stage magician and skeptic

James Randi James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Rodrigues 2010p. ...

; according to the ''New York Times'', Randi used a MacArthur grant to fund "annual ship cruises filled with skeptics". Much of Gerbic's activism has consisted of organizing sting operations against people claiming to be mediums. She and a group of volunteers calling themselves "Guerrilla Skeptics" would set up fake Facebook profiles, then visit mediums claiming to be receiving messages from the subjects of the profiles. Gerbic's team would record the session and post the evidence online. In 2010, Gerbic founded "Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia" (GSoW), a group of editors who create and improve Wikipedia articles that reflect

.Plait, Phil (May 23, 2013)
"'Bad Astronomy' on the Front Page of Wikipedia Today. Literally"
''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

''. ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'' reported in February 2019, in an interview with Gerbic, that GSoW had 144 editors who had worked on nearly 900 Wikipedia pages.

Awards and honors

* "In the Trenches" award at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry's 2012

workshop * "James Randi Award for Skepticism in the Public Interest" at

The Amaz!ng Meeting The Amazing Meeting (TAM), stylized as The Amaz!ng Meeting, was an annual conference that focused on science, skepticism, and critical thinking; it was held for twelve years. The conference started in 2003 and was sponsored by the James Randi Educ ...

2013"The Amaz!ng Meeting 2015: Susan Gerbic"
TAM13. * 2017 Award from

James Randi Educational Foundation James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is an American grant-making institution founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. As a nonprofit organization, the mission of JREF includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of ...

(shared with "her team of 'guerrilla skeptics'") * Appointed

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, February 2018 * 2019 Balles Award for Critical Thinking,

Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...

Personal life

Gerbic married Robert Forsyth in 1983."Marriages". ''The Californian''. 3 November 1983, p. 15. The couple had two sons, and the marriage ended in 2002. As of August 2018, Gerbic was in a relationship with the

mentalist Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include hypnosis, telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precogniti ...

Mark Edward Mark Edward (born Mark Edward Wilson, May 19, 1951) is an American mentalist and author. He has written books on mentalism, séance theory and production, including '' Psychic Blues'' published in 2009, where he discusses working for the Ps ...

. They met in 2009 on one of James Randi's skeptics' cruises to Mexico; Edward was working on the ship as part of the entertainment. Last Chemo Today

In 2013, Gerbic discovered she had

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

after she and a colleague at Lifetouch studios scheduled

mammogram Mammography (also called mastography) is the process of using low-energy X-rays (usually around 30 Peak kilovoltage, kVp) to examine the human breast for diagnosis and screening. The goal of mammography is the early detection of breast cancer, ty ...

s in response to

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

undergoing a

preventive mastectomy A preventive mastectomy or prophylactic mastectomy is an elective operation to remove the breasts so that the risk of breast cancer is reduced. Indications The procedure is a surgical option for individuals who are at high risk for the developm ...

.Norstrand, Dave (July 5, 2014). "Working during cancer treatments". ''The Californian'', pp. 1C, 8C. By December that year, Gerbic had completed 20 weeks of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

for stage II cancer and, by March 2014, 33

radiation treatment Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

s. Gerbic continued to work throughout the treatment, and her follow-up mammogram revealed no cancer. She said the experience had made her tougher. File:James Randi on JREF Gerbic prize 2017.webm,

announcing Gerbic has won the

JREF James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is an American grant-making institution founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. As a nonprofit organization, the mission of JREF includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of ...

prize for 2017 File:Susan Gerbic European Skeptics Congress 2017.webm, Gerbic speaking about GSoW, 17th

European Skeptics Congress European Skeptics Congresses (ESCs) – a series of congresses now supported by the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO), in which skeptical organisations from many different European countries participate. They have been held ever si ...

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

File:SusanGerbicAtQEDcon2014-1.jpg, Gerbic (second left) at QEDcon 2014 with Michael Marshall, Eran Segev and Samantha Stein

Early life and education

Career and activism

Photography

Guerrilla Skeptics

Awards and honors

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading