Staff & Board Bios
Stephanie Bittner, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development
206.876.2020 ext. 236
Stephanie Bittner joined Grist as Vice President Marketing and Business Development in February of 2009. Her marketing career spans nearly two decades with specialized focus on advertising, brand building and new media. Prior to Grist, she was the Director of Advertising Services at Starbucks Coffee Company and was responsible for advertising, branding and marketing strategy for the company.
Stephanie has also led brand strategy and advertising efforts for Continental Airlines as their director of Global Advertising and Sponsorships and she was with DDB for 9 years where she managed multinational accounts for the company’s Dallas and Argentina office.
Stephanie has taught marketing, advertising and public relations courses and has earned a Masters in Business Administration with a focus on international marketing from Southern Methodist University and is a graduate from the University of Texas at Austin.
Ashley Braun, Community Marketing Coordinator
206.876.2020 ext. 232
A child of the inaccurately monikered Midwest, Ashley grew up in Ohio, where she had no idea what public transit looked like until she studied (and rode the bus) for a semester of college in Toledo, Spain. After studying Environmental Sciences at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana (and sloshing around wetlands doing research in Wisconsin [PDF] and Montana [PDF]), she set off car-less for the West Coast and Grist. Once here, Ashley's long-time fascination with the environment, witticisms, and words found its love child. After donating her services to Grist's marketing department for a year, Ashley has now become the site's community and social media maven. (Turns out all that time in college procrastinating on Facebook has paid off!) When she's not on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, or YouTube, Ashley delights in offline activities, such as running, backpacking, container gardening, missing the bus, and visiting her long-distance -- and long-loved -- boyfriend.
Sarah K. Burkhalter, Assistant Managing Editor
206.876.2020 ext. 225
In fifth grade, Sarah was eliminated from the regional spelling bee on the word façade and determined never again to be bested by the French ... er, by words. After graduating with a B.A. in English from Seattle Pacific University, she proceeded to put her major to good use by implementing a sports program in an elementary school and working as a youth minister. Sarah was then excited to join Grist, an organization that would allow -- nay, encourage! -- her to write with wit about everything under the increasingly hazy sun. When not in her office seeking out ways to use Post-its, Sarah can generally be found running (either around a track or for the bus), telling bad jokes, eating cheesecake, or trying to convince her computer-geek husband that words are better than numbers.
Keith Caswell, Office Intern
206.876.2020 ext. 230
A native Masshole like others at Grist, Keith left the chilly winters and stifling summers of the Northeast after a brief stint at Berklee College of Music. Arriving at Seattle University, where he's currently a senior, Keith quickly became enamored with the over-caffeinated, sustainably aware lifestyle of the Pacific Northwest. When he's not stuffing envelopes or tracking Grist article pick-ups, Keith spends his time playing Xbox 360, writing, or playing guitar with dreams of becoming the next indie-rock legend.
Chip Giller, President and Founder
206.876.2020 ext. 205
Chip founded Grist in 1999 to lighten up a movement known for taking itself too seriously. He was named a TIME Magazine "Hero of the Environment" in 2007, and was awarded the 2006 National Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation. Chip has been featured for his work in such outlets as Vanity Fair, Newsweek, and Outside, and has appeared on broadcast programs including the Today show and PBS's NOW. In 2004, he received the Jane Bagley Lehman Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy from the Tides Foundation, in recognition of the vital role Grist is playing in increasing environmental awareness.
Before launching Grist, Chip was editor of Greenwire, the first environmental news daily. He is a senior fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program and a three-time journalism fellow with the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources.
A native of Massachusetts, Chip graduated from Brown University with an honors degree in environmental studies. (Yes, he is an obsessive Red Sox fan.) When Chip's not pondering the future of online environmental journalism, he likes to spend his time with his wonderful wife, Jenny, their 2-year-old daughter, Ellis, and their infant son, Sebastian, at their home on Vashon Island, near Seattle.
Jonathan Hiskes, Staff Writer
206.876.2020 ext. 218
Jon grew up southwest of Chicago where reading Thoreau’s Walden sent him on misguided quests and eventually out of suburbia entirely. After college in Michigan he spent a year in India working with high school students, traveling, and trying (though not very hard) to learn Hindi. A small newspaper in southern Indiana let him report on rural life in exchange for sitting through gazillions of school board and county council meetings. He fell in love with journalism, then moved to Seattle. He keeps talking about starting a vegetable garden. A friend once told him “Hikes make everything else worth it.” He knows that isn’t quite true but repeats it anyway.
Wentina Hurtado, Director of Finance
206.876.2020 ext. 240
Wentina is on a train that left Seattle at 3 p.m., traveling 50 miles per hour, heading toward San Francisco, 800 miles away. Your train leaves S.F. at 9:12 p.m., heading toward Seattle at 90 mph. A fly is hovering just above the nose of Wentina's train. It buzzes from her train to your train, turns around immediately, flies back to the first train, and turns around again. It goes on flying back and forth between the two trains until they meet. If the fly's speed is 187 mph, how far will it travel? And at what time will our trains meet? To find out more about Wentina, meet her at the Amtrak Station, Saturday at noon. Wear a blue rose in your lapel and walk with a slight limp.
Lisa Hymas, Senior Editor
206.876.2020 ext. 207
Lisa cofounded Grist in 1999 and now serves as senior editor. She's also worked at Greenwire, an online environmental news service; Island Press, an environmental book publisher; Tomorrow, a sustainable business magazine; and ONE/Northwest, a nonprofit capacity builder for environmental groups in the Pacific Northwest. When not obsessing over news and politics, she's likely to be found running, hiking, reading edifying books or trashy magazines, whipping up vegetarian delights in the kitchen, or planning her next international escapade.
Linda Ingersoll, Director of Business Development
206.876.2020 ext. 224
For Linda, what started as a college summer job at camp Hug-A-Tree blossomed into a full-fledged environmental career. For more than a decade, Linda combined her irrational environmental exuberance with a penchant for corporate fundraising while overseeing National Wildlife Federation's cause marketing program. After a brief stint in a branding agency, Linda has come home to Grist to build partnerships that draw in the next generation of people who care about Mama Earth while generating revenue to keep the lights on and the computers humming.
Having never quite let go of her camp days, you may spot Linda in her native Washington D.C., mountain biking, kayaking, camping, and generally exploring the wilder climes outside the beltway with her two kids and devoted mutt Rosie in tow.
Amanda Little, Contributing Writer
Amanda began her career as a founding editor of Feed, the first online magazine, which was launched in 1996. She also created and wrote a column for The Village Voice called "Urban Upgrade," which examined the technological improvements in New York City's institutions and infrastructure. Following this, she became the technology editor for I.D. (Industrial Design) Magazine. Amanda has reported on the environment for such publications as The New York Times, The Nation, The Washington Post, Wired Magazine, and Rolling Stone. She earned her bachelor's degree in literature from Brown University.
Matt Perry, Web Production Manager
206.876.2020 ext. 244
Matt Perry writes code and manages Grist's daily web production and development efforts. A devoted open source nerd, he has worked with PHP and related web technologies for many years now. He is interested in the intersection(s) between people, code, and society. He is a fan of network neutrality, soccer, Bolivia, bicycles, math, the healing professions, South Indian food, and the Vancouver Canucks. Matt joined Grist after a year and a half living off the grid in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Previously, he was a senior software architect at the internet's largest whois and domain industry portal, helped launch an online startup (back when everyone was doing that), and studied too much. He lives in Seattle with his lovely partner and lazy dog.
Tom Philpott, Food Editor
When Tom isn't obsessing about food and agriculture while hunting and pecking at his laptop's keyboard, you can usually find him in the kitchen or in the field at Maverick Farms in Valle Crucis, N.C. Before moving to the farm in 2004, he held a day job as a finance writer and editor in New York City, and generally split his off time between his community-garden plot in Brooklyn and his apartment kitchen. In past lives, he has worked as a grill cook in an old-school Texas steakhouse, a finance reporter in Mexico City, and a community-college instructor/restaurant critic in Austin, Texas. He counts among the few English speakers to have written a complete guidebook to the young nation of Slovakia.
David Roberts, Staff Writer
206.876.2020 ext. 220
David was born and raised in the South. A revelatory summer working in Yellowstone National Park convinced him that it was not the world but just the part where he lived that sucked, so he moved out West. After several wayward years spent snowboarding and getting an MA in philosophy (go griz), he woke up with nothing but a dissertation between him and an arid, cloistered life spent debating minutiae with the world's other 12 Dewey scholars. So he bailed. A period was spent trudging through the swamp of Seattle tech work, wading past Amazon.com, IMDb.com, and Microsoft, before the fine folks at Grist fell for his devastating good looks in December 2003.
He now spends his free time playing in his new house with his newish sons and his not-so-new but still-wonderful wife. He loves them, loves Seattle, loves Grist, and still, despite himself, loves the internet.
Lori Schmall, Chief Operating Officer
206.876.2020 ext. 202
Lori has 20 years of management experience in the high-tech, financial-services, and health sectors. She has extensive experience in successfully managing complex projects and organizational initiatives, leading organizations and teams through change and development, and managing ongoing operations, human resources, and financial duties. Lori has a master's degree in business administration in management from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in business and psychology from Hofstra University in New York.
Theo Stewart, Ad Sales Coordinator
206.876.2020 ext. 202
After succumbing to the travel bug for several years, Theo confirmed his long-held suspicion that the Pacific Northwest is truly one of the best places to live in the world (nothing beats the local mountains in his humble opinion) and promptly moved back home to pursue a career in online media and advertising. You might find him in his free time out on the slopes at one of the local ski areas or searching for a lost ball on one of the many nearby golf courses. He also greatly enjoys cooking for his friends and family and in the summers can frequently be spotted on his deck barbecuing.
Trina Stout, Membership and Annual Support Manager
206.876.2020 ext. 221
Trina hails from Ashland, Ore., where her former-Peace-Corps-volunteer parents raised her along with three brothers. She spent her childhood camping, rafting, hiking, and helping her father tend his organic garden (read: eating all the strawberries). After four years in Southern California earning a B.A. in economics from Pomona College, she knew she had to get back to the Pacific Northwest. So she settled in Seattle, where she somehow landed a gig at Grist, charming contributions from Grist enthusiasts. In her free time, she rides her bike, plays Ultimate Frisbee, frequents farmers markets, cooks, watches bad TV, fantasizes about traveling, and volunteers at NARAL Pro-Choice Washington.
Betsy Tarlin, Interim Development Director
206.876.2020 ext. 239
Betsy Tarlin, Grist's interim director of development, is a consultant with a 25-year track record of working with nonprofit boards and senior managers to leverage opportunities, build high-performance teams, and develop and achieve ambitious fundraising and programmatic goals designed to advance the organizations' missions. Her clients cross sectors and include organizations in the arts, sciences, education, environment, social services, and advocacy fields.
Russ Walker, Executive Editor
206.876.2020 ext. 242
Russ Walker joined Grist as executive director in July 2008. Prior to Grist, he was assistant managing editor for nation and world at washingtonpost.com, where he managed a ten-person staff of editors, news producers, and reporters focused on building unique online components to complement the daily journalism of The Washington Post.
Walker joined washingtonpost.com in Jan. 2001 as senior producer of washtech.com, a site providing original coverage and serving as a portal for news produced by a variety of Washington Post Co. publications covering the Washington region's dynamic technology community. Washtech.com was relaunched in 2002 as TechNews.com, a website focusing on both the national and local technology scene. Walker was appointed business editor in 2003 and took on an assistant managing editor role in Sept. 2005, supervising the site's politics, nation, world, business, and technology sections.
Prior to joining washingtonpost.com, Walker was online director of FreedomChannel.com, a political video website that covered the 2000 elections, and he was an editor of health care policy and international affairs publications at the National Journal Group. Before entering the world of journalism, he worked as a congressional aide on Capitol Hill and as a public affairs staff person for a nonprofit health care policy association.
Walker is a 1990 graduate of Vanderbilt University and a native of Columbia, Kentucky.
Sonja Waters, Office Manager
206.876.2020 ext. 215
Sonja joined Grist after a lengthy entrepreneurial stint in commercial contracting. While creating a fun workplace for lots of different types of folks, she managed to finish her degree at Evergreen State College and raise two politically active daughters (teenagers who stayed up all through election night 2004 creating their own version of the blue-and-red USA). Considering this her greatest accomplishment to date, Sonja also revels in sailing, remodeling projects, and singing. A first soprano since birth, she proudly belts it out with the Seattle Women's Chorus. She hits notes only heard by her brood of pups (three with one more on the way) and an overly competitive canary. Her second-alto partner shares benches and sunsets, and tolerates the mystery novels.
Hanna Welch, Executive Assistant
206.876.2020 ext. 226
Hanna grew up smack-dab in the center of Seattle and was lucky enough to spend her formative years stomping around the city while also spending summers at her family's cabin on a small island in the San Juans. To date, she still thinks it's the most beautiful place in the world. Like any respectable daughter of hippie parents, Hanna learned how to use native plants to dye wool for weaving and dreamed of being a naturalist. Instead she ran away to study law in Washington, D.C., and eventually followed her bleeding heart to New Orleans to help create an interactive science workshop for low-income kids. Unable to stay away from her hometown, she moved back to the Emerald City and dabbled in corporate life, then found her rightful place in the land of nonprofits. Lured by Grist's mission to green the world one pun at a time, she now does her best to help it keep on growing -- and keep Chip on time.
If you're lucky, you'll run into Hanna while she's sailing around Lake Washington, volunteering for SIFF, supporting local hip-hop, cooking lavish meals with friends, or eating out at restaurants she probably can't afford, all with camera in hand. Question is, do you feel lucky? Well ... do ya?
Katharine Wroth, Senior Editor
206.876.2020 ext. 216
Before coming to Grist, Katharine spent eight years at environmental publications in the Northeast, sneaking humor into their pages whenever possible. Katharine grew up in Maine, where she thrived on long and aimless rambles through the woods. When she decided her love of punctuation matched her love of perambulation, an editing career was born. In her spare time, Katharine defends the merits of bowling to anyone who will listen. Which isn't really anyone at all.
Board of Directors
Susan L. Kaufman, Chair (Brookline, Mass.)
Susan L. Kaufman is executive director of Urban Medical, a Boston-based nonprofit that connects disadvantaged people to quality healthcare. Previously, Susan founded and directed Benova, a company that provides services to health and human-services agencies in 15 states. She has a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. She is also on the boards of Green Empowerment and RealBenefits.
Rachel Morello-Frosch, Treasurer (San Francisco, Calif.)
Rachel Morello-Frosch is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Rachel's research examines race and class determinants of environmental health among diverse communities in the United States. Previously, she held a joint appointment between the Department of Community Health at Brown Medical School and the Center for Environmental Studies. Rachel completed her bachelor's degree in development studies, a master of public health degree in epidemiology and biostatistics, and her Ph.D. in environmental health sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. Rachel is a co-founder and former board chair of the Environmental Leadership Program and sits on the scientific advisory board of Breast Cancer Action.
Benjamin Strauss, Clerk (New York, N.Y.)
Benjamin Strauss is associate director at Climate Central, a nonprofit that tracks and communicates climate change science and solutions. Formerly, he worked for Abt Associates, co-organized the Campus Earth Summit, and authored a report on college environmental education and practices for the Nathan Cummings Foundation. He has a bachelor's degree in biology from Yale University, a master's degree in zoology from the University of Washington, and a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University. Benjamin is a founding board member of Grist and was a founding director of the Environmental Leadership Program.
John Alderman, Member (Washington, D.C.)
John Alderman is the publisher of Slate Magazine. In addition, he heads up business development for Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the digital arm of The Washington Post Company. In this role, he is responsible for developing and managing strategic partnerships and new business initiatives for washingtonpost.com, newsweek.com, and slate.com. Previously, John ran business development for Away.com, a travel website that was sold to Orbitz in 2005. Earlier in his career, John served in a variety of editorial and business roles at Outside magazine. John has a bachelor's degree in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard College and an MBA from Columbia University.
Gino Borland, Member (Seattle, Wash.)
Gino Borland was the founder of Gino Borland, Inc., an internet company that makes personalized e-marketing software. Since selling his company, he has focused his time on environmental interests, including the climate crisis and potential clean-energy solutions. Apart from Grist, he is also involved in Social Venture Partners in Seattle, Wash.
Tony Conrad, Member (San Francisco, Calif.).
Tony Conrad is the CEO/ Founder of Sphere, the company behind the Sphere Related Content Genome. Sphere was acquired by AOL in April, 2008. In addition to Sphere, he is a Venture Partner at True Ventures and serves on the Board of Directors of Automattic (WordPress), Appssavvy, WeGame, VoxPop, Rescue Time and KISS Metrics. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Oddpost (acquired by Yahoo!), Iconoculture, MusicNow (acquired by Circuit City), and Centive, and led investments in Post Communications (NASDAQ: NTVS) and Stonyfield Farms (acquired by Groupe Danone). Tony has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism/ Economics from Indiana University.
Laura DeBonis, Member (Boston, Mass.)
Laura is currently an affiliate of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. At that role, she heads the Internet Safety Technical Task Force's Technical Advisory Board, which assesses the range of technology tools that may be used to help ensure online safety for youth. Laura previously was at Google for six years, working on a variety of products and projects. Most recently, she was the director for library partnerships for Google Book Search; earlier, she worked on the launch teams for AdSense Online and Froogle and managed global operations in the early days of Book Search. Before attending graduate school, Laura spent a number of years working in documentary film, video, and interactive multimedia, creating content for PBS, cable channels, and museums. Laura is a graduate of Harvard College and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Michelle DePass, Member (New York, N.Y.)
Michelle DePass is a program officer at the Ford Foundation. Previously, she was a senior policy adviser to the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and executive director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. Michelle received a bachelor's degree in political science from Tufts University, a law degree from Fordham University, and a master's degree in public administration from Baruch College.
Chip Giller, Founder and President
See staff bio above.
Kristen Grimm, (Washington, D.C.)
Kristen Grimm is president of Spitfire Strategies, a company that provides communications solutions to support positive social change. Previously, she was president and chief operating officer of Fenton Communications. A graduate of Smith College, Kristen is a founding board member of Grist and also serves on the boards of the Independent Media Institute and Transfair USA.
Bill McKibben, Member (Middlebury, Vt.)
Bill McKibben writes regularly for The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The Atlantic Monthly, Outside, and many other publications. His first book, The End of Nature, was published in 1989 after being excerpted in The New Yorker; it was a national bestseller and appeared in 20 foreign editions. His other books include Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, Enough, The Age of Missing Information, and The Bill McKibben Reader. Bill is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and led the organizing for StepItUp, which coordinated 2,000 climate change demonstrations in all 50 states. He's now at work on 350.org, the first attempt at a global grassroots climate change movement.
Kelsey Wirth, Member (Boston, Mass.)
Kelsey Wirth is co-founder and former director of Align Technology, an orthodontic technology company. She was also the company's president from its founding in 1997 until November 2001. Prior to her work with Align, Kelsey worked as an analyst for the Environmental Working Group, as a special assistant to the president of the World Resources Institute, and as director of constituency outreach for the Lamm Campaign for U.S. Senate. She served on the board of Brontes Technology until its sale to 3M in September 2006, and currently serves on the boards of the Environmental Working Group and the Winslow Foundation. Kelsey received her bachelor's degree from Harvard College and her MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.