Résumé

• Reporter, editor, contributor and department head at national and regional newspapers, magazines and digital publications.

• More than 25 years experience covering environmental and technology issues.

• Specialize in California issues, marine science, green technology/renewable energy, climate change, endangered species and investigative reporting and feature writing.

Bloomberg News

Reporter

Cover climate stories and other environmental issues at Bloomberg Green.

January 2022 - Present

Freelance Journalist

Cover ocean, climate change, green technology, wildlife and other environmental issues for National Geographic, Bloomberg News, The Guardian and other publications.

September 2018 - Present

News Deeply

Executive Editor, Environment

Oversaw and developed environmental news sites for News Deeply, a New York City-based media company founded by former ABC News correspondent Lara Setrakian to build news sites devoted to in-depth and sustained coverage of issues of global significance. Supervised managing editors who ran the Arctic Deeply (coverage of Arctic environmental issues) Water Deeply (coverage of water issues in California and the American West) and Oceans Deeply (coverage of ocean health, including coral reefs, deep sea mining, the blue economy and fisheries) sites. Worked with product and technology teams to develop and staff new environmental multimedia sites and engage targeted audiences through live events, conference calls, newsletters and other activities. Helped set company strategy as member of the executive team. Reported and wrote investigative features. News Deeply shut down most of its operations in September 2018 due to funding shortfalls.

January 2017 – September 2018

Participant Media

Editorial Director, Environment

Managed environmental coverage and served in the senior leadership for TakePart, a digital magazine owned Participant Media, the Los Angeles film production company behind "Spotlight," "Citizenfour," "An Inconvenient Truth” and other movies and documentaries. Conceived and executed multimedia projects on climate change, deforestation, marine mammal captivity and other global issues that combined long-form enterprise journalism, video and interactive elements. Collaborated with video, product and social media teams to develop and promote the projects. Recruited and managed a team of staff reporters and freelance writers to produce a daily environmental report. Reported and wrote long-form narrative features and investigative stories. In December 2016, Participant shuttered TakePart to focus on its core film business.

June 2014 – December 2016

Quartz

Correspondent

Wrote on environmental and green technology topics as a contract writer for Quartz, Atlantic Media’s global business news site. Also covered environmental and green tech issues as a frequent contributor to The New York Times and The Atlantic’s site.

March 2013 – June 2014

Forbes Magazine

Environment Editor

Covered the environment and green technology for Forbes’ print and online publications. Managed the green tech section of Forbes.com and recruited contributing writers. Wrote investigative features on environmental and green tech issues.

April 2011 – March 2013

Freelance Journalist

Covered environmental and green technology issues as a regular contributor to The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Reuters and other publications. As a regular contributor to The New York Times, broke front page and business section stories on renewable energy, electric cars, endangered species and other issues. As a contributing editor to Fortune Magazine, served as an organizer/moderator of Fortune’s annual Brainstorm Green conference. Wrote the Green Wombat blog for Fortune.com that focused on the business of green technology.

January 2009 – April 2011

Fortune Magazine

Senior Editor

Wrote and edited environmental and green technology stories for the magazine and for Fortune.com. Oversaw Fortune’s West Coast online tech coverage, managing a staff of three reporters. Served as an organizer and moderator for Fortune’s annual Brainstorm Green conference. Highlights included an investigative feature that revealed a secretive solar land rush in the Mojave Desert by Goldman Sachs and other companies that foreshadowed future battles between environmentalists and renewable energy advocates over endangered species.

September 2007 – December 2008

Business 2.0 Magazine

Assistant Managing Editor

Edited and assigned feature stories for San Francisco-based monthly Time Inc. magazine focused on the new economy. Initiated the magazine’s green technology coverage, assigning, editing and writing feature stories on the renewable energy boom, electric cars and other environmental topics. Started Green Wombat, one of the first journalistic green tech blogs. Time Inc. closed Business 2.0 in September 2007.

May 2006 – September 2007

San Jose Mercury News

Business Editor

Managed 30-person business news department for the Knight Ridder-owned metro daily of Silicon Valley. Directly oversaw five assigning editors and worked closely with the business design director and online team leader. Planned and directed daily news coverage and projects and managed the business news department budget. Restructured department to create reporting/editing teams that reflect the increasing convergence of technologies and beats. Lead effort to integrate print and online business coverage.

September 2005 – May 2006

Deputy Business Editor

As the No. 2 editor in the business news department, worked with the business editor to manage daily news coverage. Collaborated with five assigning editors and a designer to plan the daily news report and front-page stories and projects. Oversaw and edited technology reporters covering the chip, computer and entertainment industries. 

October 2004 – September 2005

Assistant Business Editor/Technology

Assigning editor for four technology reporters covering key Silicon Valley companies and industries. Launched and edited Tech Monday, a weekly news and feature section focusing on technology trends and innovations.

November 2003 – October 2004

The Sacramento Bee

Assistant Business Editor

Supervised reporters covering technology, state government, the economy, the lobbying industry and commercial real estate. Played key role in re-shaping The Bee’s business coverage to raise journalistic standards and focus on issues relevant to the Sacramento region’s changing demographics. Worked with reporters to help them meet the new standards and produce front-page stories that raise the profile of business news at the paper. Supervised interns who rotated through the business department.

May 2003 – November 2003

Freelance Journalist, Sydney, Australia 

Covered Australia for Wired magazine and other U.S. publications, focusing on environmental and technology issues. Also wrote a biweekly column for australia.internet.com, a technology news site.

October 2001 – April 2003

The Industry Standard

Senior Editor

Edited the Policy & Politics section of San Francisco-based national weekly newsmagazine that covered the new economy, overseeing the Washington bureau, West Coast political coverage and health/biotech issues. Assigned and edited news stories and features for the magazine and breaking news for publication’s Web site.

October 2000 - September 2001

Senior Writer

Established and led health care coverage for the magazine, reporting on technology’s transformation of health and medicine. Also covered education, served as special assignments reporter and wrote features and investigative reports.

May 1998 – October 2000

Freelance Journalist, Sydney, Australia 

During six-month sabbatical, traveled throughout Australia and wrote for The Bulletin, an Australian newsmagazine, and contributed to The San Diego Union-Tribune and other publications. 

October 1997 - April 1998

The Recorder

Associate Editor

Supervised and worked with reporters on developing stories for San Francisco legal daily owned by Time Warner. Edited daily stories and features.

July - October 1997

Senior Writer/Environmental Reporter

Covered endangered species/biodiversity issues, California's timber wars, Superfund, clean air/water disputes and environmental legislation. Projects included an investigation into a decade-long court battle over a Southern California toxic waste dump that may leave taxpayers saddled with a potential billion-dollar cleanup; an investigation into the politicization of state wildlife agencies; the death of a plating shop worker and how state regulators overlooked a decade of environmental and worker safety violations; and an investigation into how oil company executives escaped prosecution after exposing San Francisco Bay Area residents and their own workers to toxic pollution.

Feature stories included a report on Freon smuggling in California; the behind-the-scenes story of the prosecution of a Central Valley farmer for allegedly killing endangered kangaroo rats; and a report on how a grass-roots North Coast environmental group took on the Pacific Lumber Company and won an unprecedented federal court order banning logging in an ancient redwood forest inhabited by an imperiled seabird.

December 1990 - July 1997

Education

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York City. M.S. with Honors.

University of California, Santa Cruz. B.A. in Politics