Class of 2025

Liz Dempsey

Liz Dempsey was born in Ronan and raised across Montana. Her work focuses on native communities. She currently works for Char-Koosta, the tribal newspaper located on the Flathead Reservation. She is a Salish, Kootenai, Shoshone, and Lakota Sioux.

Mike Green

 Mike spent the past 12 years exploring the wild landscapes and waters of the Western US by foot, bike, and boat. He now looks to give back to the experiences and people that have inspired his own story through his photography, writing, and storytelling. Though he sleeps comfortably indoors now, he still dreams of being under a tarp in the rainforest of Southeast Alaska.

Hayden Blackford

Hayden grew up in the Yellowstone area before attending the University of Montana for a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies. In doing so, he discovered the importance of accurate, digestible information, and began working as a journalist at his local paper, the Livingston Enterprise. He finds joy in the art of upcycling, attempting to create furniture from wood that he finds for free.

Madeline Jorden

A Texan by birth and a Georgetown graduate, Maddie spent seven years working in media on a Colorado cattle ranch where she dove deep into conservation, food production, and rural issues. Her interest in using words and images to tell authentic stories of human relationship to place has taken her from American cattle ranches to nomad tents on the grasslands of Tibet to Montana on a solo bicycle trip photographing the migration corridor of sandhill cranes. In her free time she is usually in the company of her dog, Newt, and her horse, Norman.

 
Cassidy Motahari

The making of a short film about an environmentally conscious farmer allowed Cassidy
to combine her undergraduate passions, wildlife biology and art. Since then, she worked as a freelance videographer in Vermont before wandering across the United States with her camera in hand before settling in the Southwest. In Arizona she worked as a science communicator for public land agencies and interned on a documentary film crew. A pollinator enthusiast, Cassidy once spent a summer hand-raising bumblebee colonies.

Ben Rubin

Ben is originally from Brooklyn, the land of pizza, bagels and pigeons. His undergrad thesis at Hampshire College explored the controversies around genetically engineered mosquitoes. An impulse toward urban exploration led him West to LA where he became intent on sharing the stories of the unvoiced. He hopes that fifty years from now, you can find him sitting in a rocking chair, playing the banjo.

Emily Senkosky

Born in Idaho with a bad case of wanderlust, Emily Senkosky is a writer, photographer, and editor who inspired by new surroundings. After making a life for herself in Medellin, Colombia, the environmental parallels that connect us all drew her to journalism and the Western landscapes that raised her. A devil's advocate in both word and action, Emily once used broken Spanish to sweet-talk her way out of being detained.

 
John Stember

John Stember (b. 1993) is a photographer shaped by a decade of movement across the Western U.S. Drawn to big country, he’s worked as a wilderness guide and dog musher. He attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in 2022 and has been selected for the Eddie Adams Workshop in 2023. He’s a licensed commercial drone pilot.

Class of 2024

Ella Hall

Ella grew up in the rain shadow of the North Cascades in Washington before venturing east for college. She graduated from Dartmouth in the early days of the pandemic with a degree in Environmental Studies and then moved to France where she spent two years teaching English at a public university. While living in Europe she started working as a journalist for a small online publication, which rekindled her enthusiasm for writing and reporting, eventually leading her to Missoula to pursue environmental journalism at UM. In her free time Ella enjoys pretty much any outdoor activity, but trail running and skiing are at the top of the list.

Josie Harris

Josie spent her youth in the forests of New England, where she fell in love with woodland critters and learned to fear tickborne diseases. Her deep appreciation for wildlife and an unexpected aptitude for the trumpet led her to major in biology and music performance at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. She then landed at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC as an immunology researcher. While the exacting nature of laboratory work suited her technically, it failed to speak to her passion for animals and the outdoors. Trading her micropipette for a camera, Josie aims to produce video stories that convey animal and environmental issues using a scientific lens. Sleet or smoke, you can find Josie and her dog anywhere a bike or canoe will take them.

Luke Kuennen

Growing up in rural Iowa, Luke became interested in conservation stories at a young age. He earned his bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Maryland Global Campus, and has previous experience in photo/video work. Luke enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors.

Mitchell (Mitch) Clark

Mitch is an award-winning filmmaker with over a decade of experience in commercial and broadcast video production from Salt Lake City, Utah. He enjoys collaborative outdoor storytelling, and seeks out adventure in his work. By pursuing his graduate degree at UM, he plans to expand his network and portfolio to environmentally focused documentary work. When he's not behind the lens, Mitch enjoys riding bikes in bad weather, rock climbing, and making cold brew. 

Kathryn Simecek

Kathryn Simecek grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, where she spent her summers scuba diving in murky quarries and the Great Lakes. She earned a B.A. in Geography with a focus on Environment & Society from The Ohio State University before commissioning into the US Army, where she served on active duty for 6 years. She continues to serve in the Army Reserves as the Commander of an Engineer Company in Guam while building her skills as an environmental journalist and photojournalist. After 20 years of scuba diving everywhere from quarries to coral reefs, she is passionate about sustainability and marine conservation, and hopes to tell the ocean's stories from behind her lens.

Bonnie Pace

Growing up in Missoula, Bonnie developed a deep affection for the mountains and streams of Montana. With her 31-year tenure at the University of Montana behind her, retirement has opened the door to a new journey – an encore career as a freelance environmental journalist. Having obtained her bachelor of science in ecological restoration from UM in 2014, Bonnie is now a second-year graduate student in the journalism program where she’s learning multi-media skills like ArcGIS mapping, reporting, audio, photo and video. Her goal is to produce stories that captivate audiences, revealing the wonders of science and the natural world in fresh, exciting and innovative ways.

Caroline Weiss

Caroline grew up all over the west, learning to love the outdoors in Texas, New Mexico and California. She moved north to hike and major in environmental studies and history at Reed College in Oregon, where she wrote a thesis on the environmental justice implications of radiation. After spending summers as a backpacking and river guide, and a year repairing kayaks, Caroline hopes to continue sharing her passion for the outdoors by telling stories about the connections between people and the environment.

Victoria Traxler

Victoria graduated from Elon University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She then moved to New Mexico where she worked as a Public Safety Reporter at the Santa Fe New Mexican. Her interest in environmental issues and their impacts on communities drew her to the Environmental Journalism program at UMT. She aims to cultivate writing that informs and engages people with the important things going on in their own backyards. 

Hailey Smalley

Hailey (she/they) spent her first eighteen years of life figuring out how to leave Central Texas and her latter eight years crafting this wanderlust into a lifestyle. After getting a BS in Environmental Studies from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Hailey led hikes at a nature center in Alaska, taught English at a secondary school in Malawi, and cultivated a garden program at an elementary school in San Francisco. All these experiences developed a deep gratitude for discovering, or rather rediscovering, the many unknowns of the natural world. In their journalistic endeavors, Hailey enjoys covering underground or else overlooked subjects, from a burgeoning green burial movement to efforts to preserve rare alpine insects. Her masters project will focus on malaria vaccination in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Najifa Farhat

Najifa is originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh and has been working as an environmental journalist for over three years. Despite having no formal education in environmental science, she was deeply motivated to pursue environmental journalism due to her country’s climate vulnerability caused by climate change. It led her to find a journalism program focused on the environment; hence, she landed upon the J-school graduate program. Najifa is guilty of enjoying the science classes a little bit more than the journalism classes because they intrigue her curiosity and sharpen the efforts of simple storytelling on complex matters. She is interested in working on any topic regarding the environment but has a special interest in covering issues related to water — mostly because she grew up by one of the biggest rivers of Bangladesh. While growing up there, she developed a deep appreciation for the intricate interconnectedness between water resources, humanity, and the natural world. She just finished her summer internship as a journalism intern with the Flathead Lake Biological Station. Looking ahead, Najifa envisions a career which would enable her to shine light the stories of individuals worldwide who are grappling with the far-reaching consequences of climate change, with a particular emphasis on South Asia.

Sage Sutcliffe

Growing up among the sagebrush of southern Utah and the mountains of Salt Lake City, Sage (she/her) always knew she wanted to tell stories. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Human-Environment Geography and minors in Sustainable Systems and Environmental Studies from Utah State University and is finally channeling her writing skills as a print and audio journalist in Montana. She loves to experiment with new recipes, travel to old and new places, and watercolor paint. She appreciates every moment spent exploring the outdoors while leaving a minimal impact. As a climate optimist, Sage stays hopeful and motivated by sharing solutions-based stories.

4+1 Students

Josh Moyar

Josh originally came to the University of Montana from Chicago, Illinois. He completed his undergraduate degree at UM in spring of 2023 with a double major in journalism and creative writing. Since his childhood, Josh has always loved wildlife. These days, he is most interested in the interactions between wildlife and people, invasive species, and the effect climate change has on ecosystem function. Aside from the J-school, Josh is also the manager of KBGA, the University's radio station.

Kennedy Delap

Kennedy Delap grew up in North Dakota and completed her undergrad at UM. She studied journalism with a focus on photojournalism with a passion for wildlife photography and environmental issues. Her hobbies include skiing, horseback riding, and camping!

FORMER STUDENTS

Class of 2023:

Kevin Moriarty

Kevin graduated from the University of Louisville in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Geography. After realizing he had a passion for environmental issues, Kevin moved to Missoula to pursue journalism at UM. He is a budding photographer and writer interested in telling stories about wildlife, climate change and whatever else piques his interest. In his spare time, he enjoys sunny days at the skatepark.

Gentry Hale

Gentry grew up along the Wasatch foothills of Salt Lake City, where she spent her time snowboarding and playing in the mountains. She got her undergraduate degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies at the University of Utah before moving to San Diego. where she spent two years surfing. Now, she is working hard at environmental journalism in Montana. Her writing often focuses on wildlife and land management and she dreams of writing for National Geographic in the future.

Izaak Opatz

Izaak is a songwriter and nature boy, and loves hearing what people do to make a living. Having grown up in Montana and spent the bulk of his life in the state, he's interested in the many ways there are to be a Montanan and a westerner, and how those ways are changing. He loves a good lemony eggs benedict and Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream, thank you very much, and can't wait to go on his next bike tour.

Richard Forbes

Richard grew up wandering the forested lowlands of southeast Pennsylvania before moving west in 2011, where he studied ecology and journalism at Colorado College. He's spent the last 12 years guiding in the backcountry, researching plants in mountain environments and educating the public about conservation and stewardship. He believes that narratives shape the world and hopes to use storytelling to help people question their assumptions and find empathy for themselves and others. In his free time, he's either looking at maps, taking photos and videos, or out in the landscape trying to climb up things.

Rachel Neal

Rachel grew up surrounded by the golden marshes of Southeast Georgia. She earned undergraduate degrees in Ecology and Media Studies from the University of Georgia, combining her passions for the environment and storytelling. Rachel taught environmental education in rural Georgia, New York City and Butte, Montana, where she realized the need for environmental literacy and accessible scientific knowledge, which brought her to journalism. She hopes to create multimedia journalism that engages audiences with science and the natural world.

Amelia Liberatore

Amelia grew up in the oak-forested hills of southern Oregon. She earned a BA in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Food and Farming in 2017 from the University of Montana. She then served on the board of directors for a nonprofit connecting sustainable agriculture with renewable energy to foster local food systems in Montana. She then shifted to field research, studying desert ecology and soil remediation in Israel for 18 months. Her time in the Middle East yielded understanding of cross-cultural conflict and community building. She learned that most conflicts grow out of communication issues, and by speaking (or writing) differently or more often, people can build relationships that both inform and transcend social and political conflicts. She aims to promote this kind of communication as a writer and community member.

Keely Larson

Keely grew up in Montana and received undergraduate degrees in Religious Studies and History from Montana State University in Bozeman. Keely developed a love for community journalism and driving circuitous routes through small towns working for The Madisonian and the Lone Peak Lookout for two years. With these weeklies, Keely received awards from the Montana Newspaper Association including the Mark Henkel Outdoor Writing Award in 2020. While undergoing the Environmental Journalism grad program at the University of Montana, Keely freelanced for the Missoula Current and Outside Business Journal. She will be interning with Montana Free Press this summer and carving out time to run around the mountains.

Kathleen Shannon

Kathleen learned to love the outdoors while living in a wall tent and working on farms in Midcoast Maine. She hit the road in 2017, taught herself to backpack in Glacier National Park and got some on-the-ground lessons in wildfire and water scarcity while farming in Colorado. There, she stumbled into the newsroom at KDNK Community Radio and produced stories about public lands, wolf reintroduction, mining and more that got airtime as far as Utah and Wyoming and received an award from the Colorado Broadcasters Association. She hopes to write investigative audio stories on environmental justice issues and, meanwhile, can be found exploring the mountains with her dog, Zuki.

Class of 2022:

Sarah Mosquera

Sarah is a Chilean-American photojournalist with a passion for documenting environmental justice issues. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado State University. She is working to expand her skills as a multimedia storyteller to amplify the voices of people facing food and water insecurity. Sarah spends her free time hiking to alpine lakes and watching true crime documentaries.

Bowman Leigh

Bowman’s love for the natural world began in her front yard in Portland, Oregon, where she learned the fine art of tree climbing. After graduating with a degree in human ecology and communication from the University of Puget Sound, Bowman worked as a naturalist in Colorado. A storyteller at heart, Bowman is drawn to the tales that remind us just how linked we are to each other and to the places we live.

AJ Williams

Aj is a Midwesterner who boomerangs between the West and The Great Lakes. Their background is in social documentary work and environmental science. Most recently, Aj worked as a PBS videographer and freelance editor in Minneapolis. Aj identifies as a public media addict, bookworm in-training, imprecise baker and squeaky wheel.

Patrick Shea

Patrick was born and raised in Urbana, Illinois, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in natural resources from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. During his time in the Northwoods, he developed a love for plants and writing. He is interested in reporting on policy issues surrounding the Great Lakes watershed. In 2017, he biked from Wisconsin to New Orleans along the Mississippi River. In 2018, he biked from Wisconsin to Newfoundland.

Mak Sisson

Mak grew up in Delaware and studied environmental science at Towson University in Maryland. Mak has taught environmental education to children on the East Coast. Her current interests are wastewater treatment and invasive species control. She has published in the literary magazine Grub Street.

Abbie Lauten-Scrivner

A native of Sacramento, Abbie cut her journalism teeth as a beat reporter at a daily newspaper in California’s Central Valley. Abbie studied journalism and public relations at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She is interested in writing about environmental justice and issues of disparity.

Lena Beck

Originally from Oregon, Lena came to Missoula by way of Washington State. After completing an undergraduate degree at Seattle University, Lena worked in the restaurant industry. Baking bread, pouring beer and managing an Italian cafe inspired in her a love for what local food systems can bring to the table. Lena has written for Seattle Magazine and was managing editor for the Seattle University Spectator. In her free time, Lena reads detective novels and tries to convince her houseplants not to die.

Jessi Mejia

Jessi is a wildlife biologist who grew up in New Jersey. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in wildlife and conservation biology, she worked on a variety of projects focused on endangered species. She’s inspired to transition her wildlife career into journalism, sharing solutions and turning conservation despair into optimism.

Sierra Cistone

Sierra grew up in the oak woodlands of Northern California where she became an avid birder and outdoor enthusiast. She received a bachelor’s degree in wildlife conservation and management at Humboldt State University. She has traveled the world volunteering for nonprofits and helping researchers study wildlife species including owls, tigers and mountain lions. In her free time, she can be found running with her dog, Goose, or looking through her binoculars or camera lens.

Jordan Unger

As an undergraduate student in history, Jordan gained a deep appreciation for writing, research and learning others’ stories. He plans to focus on improving his narrative and multimedia skills in order to tell the stories of marginalized groups. He enjoys reading, jazz-funk and any type of aquatic situation.

Erica Zurek

Erica is a freelance photographer who grew up in the Midwest and has spent the past 20 years living in and roaming around the West. Prior to turning her professional focus to photography, she worked in violence prevention, taught high school and managed a community health program at Western Washington University. She’s inspired to produce investigative multimedia projects at the intersection of environmental justice, public health and science. Erica is most at home in the mountains and by water. She loves exploring the natural world in running shoes and on skis. 

RECENT STUDENTS

Pete Zimmerman: Pete is a writer and storyteller whose work focuses on the intersection of people and the environment.  When not working on his craft you can find him clinging to cliff faces or making snow angels.  In a former life, he worked as a mountain guide in the Coast Mountains of Southeast Alaska.

Kylie Mohr: Kylie grew up in Washington state, studied at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and loves the mountains in the middle. Kylie cut her teeth writing for NPR and CNN in college before migrating to Wyoming, where she worked as a newspaper reporter for three years. While a grad student at the University of Montana, Kylie's freelanced for National Geographic, Bitterroot Magazine and High Country News, and had stories air on Montana Public Radio and Wyoming Public Radio. She plans to do her externship above the Arctic Circle this summer with a researcher studying snowy owls in Utqiaġvik, Alaska before reporting her Master's project on caribou and climate change in the northwest corner of the state.

Geneva Zoltek: After receiving a Bachelor's degree from Montana State University in 2017, Geneva moved to Hawai'i where her passion for the environment was ignited. After a year on the Big Island, she lobbied for her alma mater at Montana's 2019 Legislative Session and realized that climate policy issues were not being covered by the press. That's what inspired her next chapter and she applied for journalism school. Endemic to Kalispell, Montana, Geneva is just a stone's throw away from home, but she plans on taking her career international. As she continues to pursue journalism, Geneva hopes to cover international conflicts and resolutions surrounding climate change while working on her social media identity and platform Eco-Current. 

Katie Hill: Still branded by her Connecticut license plates, Katie considers herself the classic “East Coast Transplant.” She got her degree in journalism from Emerson College in downtown Boston and interned for AMC Outdoors, the magazine of the Appalachian Mountain Club. After spending three summers working on a ranch in the Big Horns of Wyoming, she discovered a preference for running Big Sky country’s trails to Boston’s crowded streets, and made the drive West. Katie believes the best way to tell any environmental story is through the eyes of the people most affected. She is the worst kind of Guinness-slurping Boston sports diehard, and yes, she is wicked sorry about it.

Melea Burke: A Southerner with a love for wide open spaces, Melea wasn’t born in the West but got here as soon as she could. Melea has worked as a reporter, photographer and editor in community news around Montana for several years and designs newspapers for Adams Publishing Group. She hopes to combine her thirst for adventure with her passion for storytelling through documentary film. Melea’s happy place is the rowing seat on Dory, her bright blue raft, whether tackling whitewater or a multi-day float trip.

Mary Auld: Mary grew up in the boreal forest of interior Alaska and the hay fields of upstate New York. A lifelong writer, she developed a concern for the environment as a long-distance hiker and manager for her school gardens. She plans to meld her experience with local reporting and environmental education to tell vivid stories that connect people to the earth. Her first pets were worms in the compost bin.

Hannah Welzbacker: Growing up with views of the Hood Canal and Olympic mountains, Hannah has always felt drawn towards the protection of water quality and national parks. Before graduating from Washington State University, Hannah wrote for The Daily Evergreen covering everything from BPA alternatives to soil acidity across the state. When she wasn’t writing Hannah was screaming at her teammates as a coxswain on the women’s rowing team. She wants you to know she says more than row, row, row your boat.

Kelsea Harris-Capuano: Finding joy and meaning among western landscapes, Kelsea became an outdoor educator to facilitate transformative experiences for young people. A job as a copy editor during a difficult time rekindled her love of storytelling and altered the direction she thought her life was headed in. She's inspired to use writing to connect people to the natural world and to each other.  Kelsea went on a three-month bike trip in Chile where she acquired the nickname the “flying brick.”

Anthony Pavkovich: Anthony focuses on crafting multimedia narratives based on the landscape and people of the West. He is inspired and shaped by the wild and public lands surrounding his home in the northern Rockies. To better understand the landscape, he once ran 240 miles out his front door. 

Sofia Stuart-Rasi: Sofia Stuart-Rasi was born and raised in Denver, Colorado speaking English and French. Having the Rocky Mountains in her backyard, she’s spent most of her life outside at high altitudes with a camera in hand. After getting her BA in Studio Arts, Sofia was a ski bum in Telluride, CO. She had a life changing epiphany when she realized she could combine both of her loves: nature and storytelling. Sofia is excited to continue learning, all while having her dog by her side.

FORMER STUDENTS