MAYA KAPOOR
My name is Maya L. Kapoor, and I am running for a seat on the board of the Society of Environmental Journalists. I appreciate all that SEJ does to connect and support environmental writers, and I see joining the board as my opportunity to give back to this vital organization through service work. Additionally, I have experience in organizational management, including managing funding and finances, and would love to develop those skills while helping SEJ to continue to grow into an effective and inclusive journalism organization.
I’ve benefitted from being part of the SEJ family in many ways, from finding professional mentorship, to winning a Fund for Environmental Journalism grant. I look forward to contributing to SEJ by serving on the board. I consider journalism a collaborative field, and I love working with other industry professionals to develop projects, goals and a vision for the best work we can do.
Currently, I’m an associate editor for High Country News, where I write about climate change, endangered species, environmental policy and social justice. My writing has been republished by venues including The Atlantic, Business Insider, Grist, Longreads, Mother Jones, Newsweek, Slate and Undark. My essays have been anthologized in How We Speak to One Another (Coffee House Press, 2017) and The Sonoran Desert: A Literary Field Guide (The University of Arizona Press, 2016). My writing has been shortlisted for the National Association of Science Writers’ Science in Society Award, nominated for a Pushcart Prize and awarded the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment’s graduate student paper award in creative writing. In addition, my work has been supported by the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism, the Vermont Law School Media Fellowship, the Aldo and Estella Leopold Residency, and a scholarship from the Bread Loaf Orion Environmental Writers’ Conference.
I also edit science writing, essays and reviews. In my role as an editor, I focus on including diverse perspectives from across the Western United States, including mentoring early-career writers through the pitching and editing process. Outside of work, I enjoy mentoring early-career science journalists through The Open Notebook.
I came to writing through science, and I have more than a decade’s experience as a field biologist and environmental educator. I have a master of fine arts degree in creative nonfiction writing from the University of Arizona, a master of science degree in biology from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree with honors in biology from Williams College. Thanks for considering my candidacy.
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