What were you doing professionally prior to the CSP program?
I worked as a reporter at various newspapers in Iowa, covering everything from crime and city hall for the Des Moines Register to the state legislature for the Associated Press. I had a very traditional start in journalism, beginning at a small community newspaper along the Mississippi River. My editors would assign me to all kinds of stories, from fires that wiped out a horse barn, to county tractor pulls, to the state government offering its largest tax incentive package ever in order to woo an Egyptian fertilizer company to build there.

What inspired you to pursue your Master of Advanced Studies in Climate Science and Policy?
Working in Iowa, there weren’t any jobs available in environment or science journalism. But I also wanted to study climate science before writing about it as I didn’t have that kind of academic background. I found Scripps’ program through a Google search and called up its director, like a good journalist, to investigate whether I’d qualify. I happened to be one of two journalists during my graduate year, and the two of us became fast comrades.

Where are you currently working and what do you do in your role?
I am the environment, energy and science reporter at Voice of San Diego, the oldest online non-profit newsroom in the nation. But I began that role in March of 2020 which meant I spent two weeks in the real world before it shut down. Luckily, I had many connections and sources through my time at Scripps to lean on which still inspire reporting today. I have the whole of San Diego County as my stomping ground so I dabble in a lot of topics including the curious death of a fin whale attacked by orcas, why the local utility charges so much for electricity, and how San Diego can ever hope to solve the Tijuana River sewage crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

What skills or knowledge did you gain from the program that you use most often in your career?
I spent a lot of time living with and talking to scientists, experts in their complicated fields of oceanography, atmospheric science, climate modeling and the like. It helped me get to know the challenges scientists face in relaying what they discover to the general public, any concerns or fears they had about speaking with journalists, and how intimate their academic circles truly are and the pressures they face when speaking out on a topic in the media. This helped me appreciate where scientists are coming from a lot more, and I learned how to approach experts with the kind of dignity and respect their science deserves as well as developing a trust-building process for fact-checking my stories to ensure their science was accurately portrayed.

Were there any specific courses or projects you completed during your time at Scripps that significantly impacted your career path?
For my Capstone, I decided to write a journalistic piece about California’s newly-minted promise to run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Through coursework at Scripps and contacts I met at conferences, I learned how key building battery storage would be in meeting that goal. It seemed to be the missing link if California were to successfully abandon its reliance on natural gas-fired power plants. I chose to fly to the Atacama Desert in Chile, the global hotspot for lithium production, the chemistry used to power batteries. I interviewed the surrounding indigenous communities about how the mining industry impacted their daily life and landscape. I spoke with attorneys and experts in the field about what it would take for California to reach that goal. And, most importantly, about the unquantified consequences California’s green energy boom would produce for other countries like Chile. Those externalities, emissions from mining, and environmental impacts, are likely not counted in California’s final assessment of its goal.