Dear SEJ members,
I've had the opportunity of meeting so many talented and dedicated environmental journalists through SEJ. The organization's trainings and development opportunities have helped me grow in my career. I'd like to now do the same for others by serving on the board.
I have worked in climate journalism for 12 years. I am a senior writer at Vox and have worked for a variety of nonprofit, print and online outlets. In my last job at Mother Jones, I would often collaborate with other newsrooms, learning the needs and challenges at different outlets. I plan to take all these experiences with me to navigate the fundraising and organizational needs of SEJ.
At the same time there's greater demand for covering environmental disasters, solutions and policy, outlets face dwindling resources. But this is also a time of innovation and entrepreneurship in the field.
In a way, the environmental beat is growing more expansive. Reporters and editors on all kinds of beats are finally recognizing that climate change and the environment are intertwined with every issue. One way to expand and diversify is by focusing on trainings and outreach for journalists who want to bring an environmental lens while working on an adjacent beat.
I think the best communities are built off of strong networks. One area I would focus on is fostering interaction and communication among members, both online or in person. That includes helping to modernize SEJ so it's serving its members' changing needs for staying connected online on Slack and by email.
I have brought a strong accountability lens to reporting, and would like to help SEJ's work fighting on behalf of journalists' safety and access to government records. I've appreciated SEJ's work defending journalists in the Trump administration when I struggled with these same issues in my reporting. The threats to journalism and democracy are only compounding, and I think it's important for SEJ to step up in this space.
This is a time for ambitious innovation in environmental journalism. I would be excited and honored to help SEJ navigate journalism's changes as a member of the board.
Bio:
Rebecca Leber is a senior climate change reporter at Vox. Before joining Vox, she was an environmental reporter at Mother Jones, where her investigations exposed government corruption and fossil fuel industry disinformation. She has worked as a staff writer at Grist, The New Republic and ThinkProgress. She's worked with over a dozen other outlets through Climate Desk, a collaboration for climate journalism housed at Mother Jones. She grew up in New York and works in Washington, D.C. You can email her at Rebecca.Leber@vox.com.
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