Five Journalists Awarded
Lizzie Grossman Freelance Grants
for Environmental Health Reporting
Elizabeth Grossman was a prolific journalist and author, and a much beloved member of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Lizzie devoted her career to uncovering environmental health issues while tirelessly advocating for freelancers until her untimely death in July 2017. Thanks to generous donors, including Lizzie herself, SEJ’s Fund for Environmental Journalism is now awarding $16,595 to five freelance journalists to underwrite travel and other expenses for story projects covering a particular topic in environmental health.
SEJ celebrates the life and legacy of Elizabeth Grossman and congratulates winners of 2018 Lizzie Grossman Freelance Grants for Environmental Health Reporting:
Sarah Craig
for
“Underground Poison,"
on arsenic contamination in drinking water in California's Central Valley: A radio documentary, online stories and a photo essay for KALW-FM, San Francisco and other outlets nationally.
Lindsey Konkel
for
“A Family Affair,”
an inside and personal look at medical research and environmental health science through three generations of women and one the nation’s longest-standing studies of endocrine disruptors: An article for
Environmental Health Perspectives.
Elizabeth McGowen
for
"Beyond Lip Service,"
reporting on efforts in Appalachian coal-mining communities to fund healthcare for compromised miners and also restore land, provide jobs and rejuvenate communities left behind by the energy transition: An article for
Blue Ridge Outdoors
.
McNelly Torres
for
“Puerto Rico’s history with contaminated water and the environmental crisis after Hurricane Maria:”
Stories, photos, videos, and data visualizations published in English and Spanish for the Center for Investigative Journalism | Centro de Periodismo Investigativo de Puerto Rico and partners such as the
Miami Herald
, Latino USA and affiliates of the Investigative News Network, with more than 80 members in the U.S. and Canada.
Lee van der Voo
for
“Juliana vs U.S.,”
reporting on youth and climate change, with relevance to multiple issues of environmental health. Long-form articles for regional or national magazines, spot news coverage for Reuters, and exploration for book-length work.
The Society of Environmental Journalists thanks generous donors, our independent FEJ contest jury of editors and colleagues, the Grossman family and these grantees for dedication to public service journalism and for honoring the memory of Lizzie Grossman through these projects.
SEJ’s Fund for Environmental Journalism was established in 2010. To date $287,000 in FEJ story project grants have been awarded to staff and freelance journalists for specific, timely reports through print, broadcast and online media. November 15, 2018 is the deadline for project proposals covering U.S. drinking water or storm water issues. For more information visit www.sej.org.
Founded in 1990, the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) is the world’s oldest and largest educational membership association of journalists who cover environment-related issues. SEJ’s 1,400+ members provide reports via print, broadcast and digital media worldwide on a daily basis.
