Welcome!

I’m an award-winning radio and print freelance journalist based in Oakland, California. I’m especially interested in science and environmental stories that explore not just the science itself, but the narratives, history, and values that shape how we interpret the science and make environmental decisions.

I am at work on a podcast called How Wild, about the history and idea of wilderness, launching in summer of 2024 with support from California Humanities. I’m also available to freelance individual print and radio stories about wilderness, public land management, outdoor recreation, and birding, among other environmental and science stories.

My work has been featured by many outlets including High Country News, NPR, Latino USA, Reveal, The California Report, and Bay Nature.

I’ve been a part of many wonderful fellowships including the Scripps Fellowship at CU Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism, the UC Berkeley 11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism fellowship, and the USC Annenberg Health Journalism fellowship. The Northern California Society for Professional Journalists has honored me with awards in long-form and science reporting; a 2019 Public Interest Award for a series I co-reported about childhood lead poisoning; and the 2020 “Emerging Journalist” award.

I’m also an editor for KALW Public Media in San Francisco, where I’m proud to work with KALW’s many training programs, including our nine-month Audio Academy professional audio journalism program. I’ve taught radio journalism to high school students, adults incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, and career-changing professionals.

I came to journalism after a decade of experience in science and teaching. I’ve had some great jobs, from working as a whale tour guide on trips to San Francisco’s Farallon islands to conducting bird surveys in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest while armed with a grizzly bear rifle. I draw on my former work as a field biologist and naturalist in National Parks and Forests in my reporting on public lands.

In addition to being a journalist, I’m a daughter, sister, godparent, friend, backpacker, birder, and a voracious crossword do-er. I live at the intersection of many identities and I believe these intersections inform my work.

Please be in touch at marissaortegawelch@gmail.com