ABOUT

I’m the Fellowship Editor for the global environmental news service Mongabay.com, where I manage the English-language portion of the Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship for aspiring journalists from tropical countries. I’m also an independent writer, editor, and media trainer. My work spans the globe, but my home base is in New Mexico. My husband and partner, Jerry Redfern, and I lived for several years in Asia, and we regularly return there (check out our film and our Redcoates Studios work through the links above). I specialize in reporting from the ground up, covering food, environment, health, and human rights. Rainforests, rice paddies, village kitchens and kayaks, mountaintops and museums after hours—these are my comfort spots, the places where I work best, in the field. Nothing inspires me more than meeting people around the globe who want to share their stories and invite me into their world.

Some career highlights:

    • Best New Mexico Production, ABQ Indie Film Festival, 2022
    • The Water Desk grantee, Rio Grande project, 2022
    • Outstanding Documentary Feature, Tallgrass Film Festival, 2021
    • Best Documentary Feature Honorable Mention, Weyauwega International Film Festival, 2021
    • James Beard Award finalist, investigative reporting, 2020
    • Education Writers Association fellow, 2020
    • Honorable mention, John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism, 2020
    • President, Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande Chapter, 2019, 2020
    • International Women’s Media Foundation Under-Reported Stories Grant recipient, 2018, 2019
    • Contributing editor, Archaeology, 2019-present
    • Miller / Packan Documentary Film Grant recipient, 2018
    • Senior Fellow, Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, 2011-2018 (the institute closed)
    • Contributing editor, Sabor Journal, 2016
    • International Women’s Media Foundation fellow, 2015-present
    • International Reporting Project fellow, Timor-Leste, 2015
    • Finalist, IRE Book Award (with Jerry Redfern, for Eternal Harvest), 2014
    • Guest editor, Global Press Journal special edition on Climate Change & Food Security, 2014
    • International Center for Journalists fellow, Borneo, 2013
    • T. Anthony Pollner Distinguished Professor, University of Montana School of Journalism, Fall 2011
    • Ted Scripps Fellow in Environmental Journalism, University of Colorado-Boulder, 2010-2011
    • Former correspondent, Gourmet, 2004-2009 (when the magazine died)

I earned my master’s at the University of Oregon and my bachelor’s at the University of Montana, with majors in journalism and anthropology. My first full-time journalism job took me to a small paper in a cold Wyoming boomtown, which pretty much nudged me toward the tropics. After living in Thailand for four years, Cambodia (twice), and too many grotty Asian hotel rooms, Jerry and I bought a fixer-upper house on half an acre near the Rio Grande in New Mexico.

We spend a splendid amount of time on bikes and nearby trails. We grow grapes, peaches, pomegranates, and herbs, with a constant eye on the sky as our state endures aridification, historic fires, damaging winds, and the disastrous effects of climate change. These are not just topics I cover; they are daily life now. Want to know more? Get in touch!

CONTACT

Feel free to drop me a line through the form below.

(The silly question helps filter a fountain of spam)