Bina Venkataraman, a Metcalf Institute Environmental Reporting Fellowship alumna, speaks passionately about our world. “The story of our planet is to me one of the biggest and most important stories, and science is a major tool for telling the story,” she said. As she begins her new position as senior advisor on climate change innovation in the […]

When Chelsea Wald, a freelance science and environmental journalist, reflects on her experience at Metcalf Institute’s Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists in 2007, she values the connections she made with fellow reporters most. One such friendship with alum Christine Dell’Amore led to the creation of the Science Newsbrief Award.  They came up with the […]

Edward Ortiz, reporter at The Sacramento Bee, calls his experience at Metcalf Institute “groundbreaking,” especially his one-on-one interactions with scientists. “Once a scientist knows that you have a good basic understanding of the science, an element of trust develops,” said Ortiz. “The researcher becomes more open to helping you understand the issues and more likely to […]

Millions of gallons of oil had already flowed into the Gulf of Mexico when Mother Jones reporter Kate Sheppard attended Metcalf Institute’s Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists in June of 2010. At the time, she was knee deep in reporting on the worst oil spill in U.S. history and one of the biggest stories of her career. “I think […]

Eager to step away from the daily grind of general assignment reporting in Beijing and Taipei, China, Manuela Zoninsein says Metcalf Institute’s Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists in 2010 was like a “breath of fresh air.”  Zoninsein had just completed her first three-years of reporting from Greater China and was transitioning to an environmental beat. “The […]

Christine Woodside has a soft spot for Metcalf Institute. Her relationship with the organization began in 1999 with the inaugural Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists. Fifteen years later, she’s one of Institute’s strongest supporters and advocates as chair of Metcalf’s Advisory Board, a voluntary position. “I am honored that I was asked to serve in this […]

David Biello recognizes the challenge of engaging people in environmental issues.

“A lot of folks feel like it’s too late. People feel like we kind of made our bed and now we have to lie in it, so they throw up their hands and tune out,” said Biello, an associate editor at Scientific American. 

Trekking through the woods to learn about forest ecology, hopping aboard a fisheries research trawler, and studying eroding shore lines is what comes to mind when Providence Journal reporter Richard Salit reflects on his Metcalf experience.  As a 2004 fellow in the Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists, Salit says he was introduced to some of the most […]

Switzerland-based freelance writer and photojournalist Jacopo Pasotti has trekked across the planet telling stories about science, cultures, and our natural world for decades.  “I know I’m doing something good because I’m covering subjects that normally would go uncovered,” said Pasotti, a 2011 alumnus of Metcalf Institute’s Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists.  “I’m learning many things […]

When Bloomberg News reporter Alex Nussbaum covered the 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, he searched for stories about people, not policy. “I try to keep things on the human level and dwell on impacts that readers can relate to,” said Nussbaum, an alumnus of Metcalf Institute’s 2002 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists. “Our […]

Meera Subramanian, an award-winning journalist, newly published author, and Metcalf Institute alumna, has been passionate about the environment since the age of 19, when she spent four months aboard a cruise ship navigating the globe through the Semester at Sea program. She witnessed a world both infinite in experience and very finite in natural resources. […]

Dennis Pillion was covering sports for the Alabama Media Group in 2010 when the Deepwater Horizon spill dumped millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. His editor immediately dispatched him to the Gulf shore to report on the oil spill heading their way – the largest marine spill in U.S. history. “What was really […]

Investigative reporter and radio producer Neena Satija envisioned a totally different career path when she began her freshman year of college at Yale University. “I thought I was going to go to medical school,” she said, until a writing class, a job at her college newspaper, and an internship at the Toledo Blade changed everything. […]

Metcalf Institute alumna Rebecca Williams has been immersed in one of the worst public health crises in recent history, the exposure of 100,000 Flint, Michigan residents to lead in their drinking water. Michigan Radio, where Williams has been reporting for the past sixteen years, was among the first local news outlets to cover the disaster. […]

Aaron Orlowski left Metcalf Institute’s 2014 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists with a brand new perspective on how researchers approach their work. “I was the only person in our newsroom who had the experience of talking to scientists about what they mean when they talk about [scientific] uncertainty,” said Orlowski, a former environment and health reporter […]

Seventeenth century-author Thomas Fuller once said, “We never know the worth of water til the well runs dry. It’s a sentiment Brett Walton can relate to as a reporter for Circle of Blue for the past six years. The online news organization was founded by journalists and scientists focused on the world’s water sources and its relationship […]

When Kate Siber decided to leave her stable reporting job at Outside Magazine for an uncertain career as a freelance journalist, she took the plunge with trepidation. “Everybody told me it was a bad idea including my boss; she thought I was going to live in a cardboard box,” said Siber, an alumna of Metcalf’s 2016 Annual Science […]

Brown University graduate student Torrey Truszkowski has conducted extensive research on the sensory processes of the brain. However, when it came to writing about her research for non-expert audiences, the PhD candidate in neuroscience, whose research has garnered a National Institutes of Health award, needed some help. “Mainly because I didn’t have confidence in my […]

Journalist Robert S. Eshelman is looking forward to diving back into one of the most important environmental beats of our time: climate change. “That story will evolve over the rest of my lifetime and it poses the greatest existential threat to all human kind.” An alumnus of Metcalf Institute’s 2012 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists, […]

Amelia Urry’s deep curiosity took off at an early age, fueled by rocket scientists. Her father helped launch NASA satellites into space and her mother worked on the Hubble Telescope. “They were always encouraging me to ask questions about things that interested us, and science was always a part of that,” says Urry, an associate […]

Gabriela Teissier spoke in a hoarse voice several days after reporting on more than seven extensive wildfires, the most destructive that Southern California has seen in recent history. They ravaged over more than 231,000 acres in early December 2017. Teissier is a news and weather anchor for Univision, a Spanish-language television network. Her day starts […]

Jacqueline Ronson pitches story ideas to an unlikely group of people – not to her editors, but to her audience. “It’s different from the traditional reporting process where you want a big scoop, so you don’t tell anyone what you’ve been working on,” said Ronson, a fellow at The Discourse, an independent journalism company in British […]

Brentin Mock approaches his stories through a social justice lens. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with joint BA degrees in English and African Studies, Mock recognized a void in environmental news coverage early in his career.

Veteran journalist Rhonda Miller’s career has taken her across the country to jobs in radio, print, and online news organizations.

When Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti, killing more than 540 people and leaving a trail of destruction in its path, Associated Press (AP) reporter David McFadden was there.

The timing was just right when Judith LaVoie attended Metcalf Institute’s 2013 Pacific Northwest Climate Change Seminar for Journalists in Seattle.

Sonia Narang takes her audience deep into the Navajo Nation where water is scarce and drought conditions are severe.