About

I am a science journalist who writes about humans and our ongoing struggles to find an appropriate place on this round, blue planet. My book, At Home on an Unruly Planet, tells the stories of four American communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Unruly Planet was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ 100 best nonfiction books of the year, a Nautilus Book Award gold winner in Ecology and Environment, and a finalist for the National Association of Science Writers’ annual journalism awards. 

My reporting focuses on climate, conservation, energy, and environmental justice, but I’ve also covered a wide range of other topics, including social movements, protest songs, food, agriculture, neuroscience, and health. My writing has appeared in The NewYorker.com, The Atlantic, The Nation, Sierra Magazine, Audubon Magazine, Slate, PBS NOVA Next, Seattle Met Magazine, Undark, Hakai, High Country News, and numerous other outlets. In 2023 and 2024, I was a mid-career fellow in the renowned Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT. I’ve also had support from grants, fellowships, and residencies from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Artist Trust, USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, the Fund for Investigative Journalism, the Jack Straw Cultural Center, the Mesa Refuge, Hedgebrook, and Edith Cowan University in Australia.

I come from a family of teachers and educators, and I also love offering workshops and classes. I have often taught nonfiction writing at Seattle’s  Hugo House and classes at various other writers’ centers and retreats. I give public lectures, talks, and workshops on climate solutions at venues across the country (from the New Orleans Book Festival to Boston College’s Clough Center). I’ve also appeared as a guest on a wide range of public radio programs—from Baltimore and Louisville to Salt Lake City and San Francisco—as well as PBS’s The Open Mind. 

I am the former senior editor of the award-winning, independent YES! Magazine and hold a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. 

I am based in Seattle, Washington.