Our 2020-2021 Planet Forward Correspondents

We are pleased to announce our 2020-2021 team of Planet Forward Correspondents! More information will be shared soon about the exceptional team of students selected. Get to know them below:

  • Maddie Arthur – University of Wisconsin-Madison. Maddie is a senior studying life sciences communication and conservation biology.
  • Arielle Bader – George Washington University. Arielle is a senior studying photojournalism.
  • Elly Beckerman – Bates College. Elly is a junior majoring in environmental studies, with a global environmental politics concentration, and minors in Chinese and history.
  • Francesca Edralin – George Washington University. Francesca is a junior international affairs major, with a concentration in environmental studies, and minors in journalism and sustainability. She was a 2020 Storyfest finalist.
  • Greta Hardy-Mittell – Carleton College. Greta is a sophomore and a reporter for The Carletonian. She was a 2020 Storyfest winner.
  • Anthony Karambelas – University of Chicago. Anthony is a graduate student in an interdisciplinary program prepping for Ph.D. studies in political science/sociology. He was a 2020 Storyfest finalist.
  • Eva Legge – Dartmouth College. Eva is a double-major in biology and earth sciences, and is minoring in creative writing.
  • Mary Magnuson – University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mary is a senior studying life sciences communication and conservation biology, with a minor in environmental studies.
  • Alex Mangold – Florida State University. Alex is a graduate student studying public interest media and communication. She graduated from Oklahoma State University in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in strategic communications and a minor in marketing.
  • Donnie Monk – SUNY-ESF. Donnie is a senior studying environmental studies focused on policy, planning, and law.
  • Paulina Oswald – Eckerd College. Paulina is a senior studying psychology, with an interest in marine life and photography. She was also a 2020 Storyfest finalist.
  • Maggie Scholle – University of San Diego. Maggie is a senior studying environmental and ocean sciences.
  • Lizzie Stricklin – George Washington University. Lizzie is a senior studying journalism and mass communication and minoring in sustainability. She was a 2020 Storyfest finalist.
  • Marisa Umeh – University of California-Berkeley. Marisa is a junior studying business administration and media studies.
  • Ali Wilt – Northwestern University. Ali is a junior studying communication and media studies.

2020-2021 Senior Correspondents:

  • Max Sano – Franklin & Marshall College. Max is a junior majoring in government and environmental studies, with a minor in Arabic.
  • Cate Twining-Ward – George Washington University. Cate is a junior majoring in environmental studies and minoring in sustainability. She was a 2020 Storyfest winner.

All Correspondent work will be featured here. Check back frequently!

How do you move the Planet Forward? Tweet us @planet_forward or contribute to the conversation with your own story.

Hub Content

Why to compost your food, and avoid the trash can

New materials are added to a compost pile at Lederer Gardens in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15, 2020. (Photos by Arielle Bader/George Washington University)

Arielle Bader
Planet Forward Correspondent | George Washington University
Despite our obsession with food, we throw so much of it away. Learn more about composting, a change you can make at home to help the earth.
New life for the Chesapeake Bay
Lizzie Stricklin
Planet Forward Correspondent | George Washington University
The Chesapeake Bay, known for its beauty and ecological bounty, faces high levels of pollution from agricultural and urban runoff. Now it has a protective Congressional act, backed by bipartisan support.
The cracks of Thingvallavatn: The lake of the fields of Parliament
Lake Thingvallavatn is shown amid a landscape of snowy mountains.

Lake Thingvallavatn in Iceland used to freeze solid in the winter. Now, it is beginning to thaw. (Axel Kristinsson/Creative Commons 2.0)

Eva Legge
Planet Forward Correspondent | Dartmouth College
On March 9, 2017, a strange crack appeared on the ice-laden surface of Thingvallavatn, the largest lake in Iceland.
Post-pandemic transit in San Diego: Finding hope in SANDAG’s 2021 regional plan
San Deigo Bus coming into a stop.

(Image by Maggie Scholle)

Maggie Scholle
Planet Forward Correspondent | University of San Diego
The cornerstone of the 2021 regional plan is the “5 Big Moves”: Five overarching strategies to change the way San Diegans use transit — but these are contingent on a willingness to change the way they commute.
'Doing something right': Students drive Carleton College’s switch to reusable containers

(Greta Hardy-Mittell/Carleton College)

Greta Hardy-Mittell
Planet Forward Correspondent | Carleton College
When the idea for a reusable container program was pitched last fall, no one could have guessed that a year later, the campus would be overflowing with the green containers — or that we'd be in the middle of a pandemic.
Farmers markets: The underdogs of 2020

Customers walk through the Dupont FRESHFARM Market in Washington, D.C., which has been open throughout the pandemic under public health restrictions. (Lizzie Stricklin/George Washington University)

Lizzie Stricklin
Planet Forward Correspondent | George Washington University
Deemed essential services, D.C. farmers markets have remained open since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic – but in order to keep vendors, staff and customers safe, markets have had to make sudden changes.
What's the solution to our problematic food system?

Lancaster Central Market in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, faced drastic customer reductions at the beginning of the pandemic, resulting in the closure of several stands, and yet most still endure. (Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com/Creative Commons)

Max Sano
Planet Forward Senior Correspondent | New York University
Why do people continue to go hungry in one of the wealthiest nations in the world? And what can we do about the food system to prevent this from happening?
Engineering Uganda’s conservation future to prevent the next pandemic

Uganda cob. (Pixabay)

Cate Twining-Ward
Planet Forward Senior Correspondent
To prevent or at least forestall the next pandemic, we clearly have an obligation to examine and prevent the practices that promote close contact between humans and wildlife, particularly bushmeat hunting and deforestation.
From Planet Forward to Mongabay: My environmental communications journey has just begun
Aquatic view from a Filipino jungle

Aquatic view from a Filipino jungle. (SparklingGirl/Pixabay)

Francesca Edralin
George Washington University
When I entered college as an international affairs major, the idea of reporting on the climate for a news outlet never really crossed my mind — until I attended the Planet Forward Summit.
South African environmental justice activists push toward change, one victory at a time

Earthlife Africa Johannesburg director Makoma Lekalakala speaks at the Madrid U.N. Climate Change Conference in December 2019. (Photo courtesy of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg)

Lizzie Stricklin
Planet Forward Correspondent | George Washington University
In South Africa, a country with the world's largest wealth disparity, poor communities face daily environmental threats. Find out how environmental justice activists are chipping away at this inequality through grassroots efforts.

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