ROLL CALL: who will be at the conference?

[Betsy Hubbard]

You've probably seen the speaker bios on the official conference Web site. And you'll get a list of your fellow participants (name, contact info) once you arrive. But this is your chance to meet--virtually--before October 12.

Take a minute to write just a few lines about yourself. No pressure--it doesn't have to be a work of art. And we won't use this as any kind of official bio (but feel free to add your official bio to your profile page, if you'd like). This is just a way to get to know one another before the conference begins.

I'll start:

I'm Betsy Hubbard, Program Manager for the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism (which means I do a little bit of everything for the program, including serving as a lead organizer for this conference). My background is in public policy and program management. My current interests relate to digital media. In addition to organizing and leading trainings about the impact of digital technologies for our journalism fellows and others, I co-teach a graduate course that examines public affairs in our digital age.

That's me. What about you?

[Hank Wilson]

I'll go next, I'm Hank Wilson and I'm the Design and Digital Media Fellow within the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. Before this I was lucky enough to be a Knight Digital Media Fellow in the Kiplinger Program. And before that I have been the visuals editor for lots of newspapers — Milwaukee Journal, Charlotte Observer, Baltimore Evening Sun, Roanoke Times — plus a few more. I'll be filming the C3 conference and helping Betsy, Debra and Patti with the conference.

[Kim Clark]

hank - when were you at the evening sun? i was at the baltimore sun from 1989-96.
Kim

[Jessica R. Barnes]

Hello all,

My name is Jessica Barnes. I'm a graduate student at Ohio State in geography. I'm interested in how journalists bring climate change home to their audiences. I've been helping out the Kiplinger Program over summer and I look forward to seeing you all in October at the conference.

What about you?

[Doug Alsdorf]

I'll be there, I'm Doug Alsdorf. I'm a research scientist and professor here at OSU. My group and I focus on water related issues. And, I also direct OSU's Climate, Water, & Carbon Program. The CWC is helping with the MC3 conference. I look forward to chatting with everyone.

[Patti Confar]

Hello! I'm Patti Confar, the McCormick Conference Coordinator. My background is in education and instructional design. I'm working with Betsy to plan the conference sessions and organize conference logistics--transportation, venues, food, hotels, paperwork and travel stipends. By now, I have talked to or emailed with all of you and am very much looking forward to meeting you in person. See you in a few weeks!

[Kim Clark]

I'm Kim Clark, a senior writer at US News & World Report. I specialize in writing about money. But the reason I have decided to focus my career on finance and economics is that I spent my first 7 years as a journalist covering all kinds of stuff as a reporter in Maine. It finally dawned on me that every story - whether about a town's salting of the roads, or a state bill requiring lobstermen to wear survival suits - really was rooted in the relationship between the environment and the economy. I've been focusing on the the economics of higher education lately, and was a Kiplinger Fellow in 2007. Oh, and we won the grand champion prize for our (organic) onions at our county fair this year.

[John Lindstrom]

Hi, I'm John Lindstrom, editor of the Michigan Report for Gongwer News Service. Gongwer, which is headquartered in Columbus, is a daily newsletter that covers all aspects of state politics and government. I'm interested in the conference because of the variety of issues that face federal, state and local governments as they deal with climate change, including the political struggle over whether to accept climate change.

Here in Michigan, for example, because we are struggling so economically much stock is being put on developing alternative energy as an economic boost. Obviously, there is also concern about the effects of changes in mileage standards on the automotive industry not just from a climatic standpoint but from an economic standpoint for the state.

So, I'm looking forward to hearing what the speakers and other reporters have to say on these topics.

[mya frazier]

Hi, I'm Mya Frazier. I'm a freelance business journalist based out of Columbus, Ohio. Most recently I was a staff writer for national business magazine Advertising Age, where I remain a frequent contributor. I'm also a former business reporter for The Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Cincinnati Business Courier. In addition to freelance work for national and regional publications and raising three boys, I am also working on launching a non-profit U.S.-based new media organization. The site's editorial mission will be exposing contradictory and misleading environmental advertising and marketing claims.

[Janet Raloff]

Janet Raloff here...

I've been at Science News for decades. I've worn lots of hats, but am now serving as senior editor and cover lots of environment issues and policy stories of all stripes. Although I write for the print magazine and online news portal, my main title these days is resident blogger. Climate and global change issues seem to consume about 1/3 of my time/space. (For instance, yesterday's blog covered how Republicans and Democrats seem to respond to the science of climate change differently--and increasingly so over the past decade...[http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/36678/title/Science_%2B_...(Political)_party_animals])

I look forward to learning more and immersing myself in the subject at OSU.

[Stephen Majors]

Hi, I'm Stephen Majors, a statehouse reporter for the Associated Press here in Columbus. I previously worked for the AP in Florida, and have had an opportunity to cover energy and climate change issues in both states. The more I've come to understand these subjects, the more I've come to the conclusion that they will likely be the defining issues of our time. I have to cover many different beats in my current job, and don't get to cover as much energy and climate change as I would like, but I could definitely see myself covering these topics full time down the road. Ohio is an important place to cover energy and climate change because of the state's economic challenges, heavy reliance on coal to produce electricity and extensive manufacturing base. I look forward to being in school again for three days!

[Kim Dedam]

Kim Dedam here, writer for the daily Press-Republican, a newspaper in the very northern part of New York State.
Based in Lake Placid, I cover the Adirondack Park, a 6.2 million acre carbon sink that pretty much sucks up enough carbon to offset Manhattan's output. (Don't tell them we're their air purifier. They set the land aside to preserve water resources, but got much more 125 years later.)
The Adirondack wilderness is composed of state lands interspersed with public lands in 104 towns and villages. The whole place, defined by a blue line on a map, was made "forever wild" by Article 14 of the NYS Constitution in 1894.
It takes two constitutional amendments over two different legislative sessions to change anything about the Adirondack State Land Master Plan. (It's serious legislation.)
The model provides an interesting concept for land use and is sometimes a battle zone, given public and private interests. Development is carefully guided with no room for sprawl, few roads, and carefully defined land-use classification. The park is bigger than Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, and Glacier National Parks put together.
Some people call this place an experiment, but I love living with bears, moose, deer and 80 billion visible stars (or more).
Attached is an image I shot today, Sept. 24, of some local color.
I'm very glad to be able to participate in climate change conversation.

[Lauren Morello]

Hi there. I'm Lauren Morello, a reporter with ClimateWire in D.C. We're a fairly new publication -- about 6 months old -- and, as you may have guessed, we cover climate change. My beat is science and adaptation, which has translated into stories about global warming-driven Arctic tourism; the links between immigration, population growth and rising greenhouse gas emissions; and attempts to "geoengineer" away warming.

Before I joined ClimateWire, I spent about three years as a congressional reporter covering a grab bag of science issues, including the occasional climate story.