Luna wrangles and assigns art and photos for the magazine and website, takes photos herself, and designs HCN materials and magazine pages.
Luna is a Michigander that left the midwest for the first time just six years ago and hasn’t stopped exploring since. Her curiosity led her to degrees in neuroscience and the fine arts at the University of Michigan where she started telling multimedia stories. Luna’s most recent work was with a non-profit in northern India that promotes financial independence through craft making for rural women. In her free time she can be found taking her camera and her dog, Rhubarb, for a walk.
Emily oversees coverage of the northern part of our region, including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
She is based in Moscow, Idaho. Her lifelong love of the outdoors was sparked by a childhood spent swimming and paddling the lakes and rivers of New York State’s Adirondack Mountains. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Colgate University in central New York, a master’s degree in biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and a graduate certificate from the University of California Santa Cruz’s Science Communication Program. She spends most of her free time cross-country skiing or cooling off in the nearest lake or river, depending on the season.
Paige oversees coverage of the southern part of our region, including California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
She lives in Durango, Colorado, and her writing focuses on the complexities and wellbeing of rural communities and she often gravitates toward narratives where wild people and wild places collide. As associate editor, Paige also helps shape the magazine’s investigative coverage. She has covered Western issues for nearly a decade and holds a master’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism. When she’s not writing, she’s hiking or skiing in the San Juan Mountains with her hound, Porter.
Nick is a correspondent for HCN's South Desk and a freelance journalist. He is based in Colorado's Gunnison Valley, which he wrote about in a cover story for the magazine. After graduating from St. Olaf College, a small school in southeastern Minnesota, Nick got his journalism start at a newspaper in the Philadelphia area as a general assignment reporter. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he covered campaigns, lobbying, and money in politics for E&E News, an environmental and energy publication.
Bear assigns photography and art, works to expand our circle of photographers, takes photos himself, and designs pages for the magazine.
Bear’s photography focuses on social and environmental justice issues, the impacts of globalization and development, and the human condition in communities often underrepresented in the media. His work and collaborations with media, nonprofit and arts organizations have been published and exhibited widely. Amongst other recognitions, he has been a finalist for a National Magazine Award in Photojournalism; and was a Ted Scripps Fellow in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Bear lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife and frequent collaborator, journalist (and HCN contributing editor) Ruxandra Guidi, and their daughter.
Customer Service Assistant; HR Assistant Location: Colorado
Gina (she/her) works in Customer Service, handling subscription renewals and working directly with customers. She assists in Human Resources with a particular focus on recruitment and onboarding.
Originally a Pennsylvanian with ties to Western North Carolina, Gina made her way to bigger mountains and wider skies, and has called the West home since 2012. Her background in social work and love of data led her to manage evaluation and research efforts at a Denver nonprofit and to manage public health programs on Colorado’s Western Slope. Her greatest adventure to date was traveling the Western U.S. solo for a year, living on public lands, hiking at national parks and visiting friends scattered across the vast landscape. In her spare time, she frets over which outdoor sport to do each weekend and which podcast to listen to on the drive.
email: gina.gurreri athcn.org
Greg Hanscom
Executive Director/Publisher Location: Washington
Greg oversees the organization’s governance and finances, broadly, raises money and manages the senior team. He is an award-winning journalist and news industry trailblazer. In more than two decades in the business, he has helped for- and nonprofit news organizations from coast to coast adapt to a fast-changing business environment, and reach broader, more diverse audiences. It all began at High Country News, where he started as an intern and worked his way up to the editor’s chair. He is honored to be back at HCN after 14 years away, helping to write the next chapter of a long-running story about the region he loves.
Erica is our master of finance and human resources. She moved to Paonia in late 2015 from Isle of Wight, England, having fallen in love with this part of Colorado after being a regular visitor to the U.S. for many years as a spouse of an American. Recently, she returned to the UK and provides support from afar. Previously, Erica served as the Director of Finance and HR for the UK Sailing Academy, a youth training nonprofit, for 20 years. She has two grown children, one of whom lives in California. Erica loves walking/hiking, having wonderful friends in her life and anything feline.
KHowe handles web-originated subscriptions and donations, as well as working directly with our customers. She grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Art from Western State Colorado University. KHowe interned at Thistle Whistle Farm in Hotchkiss, spent a year as a Fellow with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and worked for two years with the Delta County Libraries. She enjoys spending time with her dairy goats, exploring for petroglyphs and hiking the Black Canyon National Park.
email: khoweathcn.org
Gretchen King
Managing Digital Editor Location: Colorado
Gretchen (she/her) manages the flow of all of HCN’s journalism and oversees digital content, including its website, social media and newsletters. She’s excited to hear from HCN readers and help them forge a stronger connection to the stories of the West. With a B.S. in journalism and master’s in professional communications, Gretchen has worked in the web world since 1992 (and knows this dates her to admit). Raised on the Western Slope of Colorado, Gretchen has lived in Boulder, Indiana, Oregon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Now living in Gunnison, Colorado, she loves any mountain experience, chocolate and spending time with her husband, Mike, her 15-year-old son, Riley, their two dogs and fat cat.
Michael connects High Country News with new communities and readers through a myriad of means. Raised in Vancouver, Washington, he later jumped around Washington state and also spent a couple of years in Portland, Oregon. During his senior year at the University of Puget Sound, he fell into (pun intended) lucha libre mexicana and began moonlighting as a professional luchador. Since graduating, he has spent a number of years moving back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico City chasing his dream of performing in Mexico’s grandest arenas. Spandex aside, he’s managed digital marketing and social media for several brands and companies, ranging from Gatorade and Google, to the ACLU of Washington and The GenderCool Project. He’s based out of the western Puget Sound region, where he tends to small livestock, vegetable plants and his two dogs.
Director of Product and Marketing Location: Washington
Gary oversees marketing strategy, digital product development and manages the marketing and customer service teams.
He has bounced around the West throughout life, born in California, raised in Colorado, attended school in Idaho, and settled in Washington. He began his career sleeping under a desk trying to rebuild the Boulder Daily Camera’s site from scratch and has helped teams at Disney, Hearst and Tegna make sense of new audiences and technologies. When not working on introducing new audiences to High Country News, hecan be seenplaying for several roller derby leagues in the northwest.
email: gary.loveathcn.org
Nick Martin
Associate Editor Location: New York
Nick oversees the Indigenous Affairs desk and is a member of the Sappony Tribe of North Carolina. After catching the journalism bug in college, he went on to write and produce projects and story packages at Deadspin, Splinter, The Washington Post, and, most recently, The New Republic. Nick currently lives in New York but is moving out West shortly, where his weekends and down-time will hopefully include all the mountain biking and hiking the Big Apple couldn't offer.
Kathy oversees our customer service team, circulation management system and help desk.
Since 1995 Kathy has worked her way up the ranks of theHCNCirculation Department from part-time office staff (applying labels to the newspaper when it was mailed from our Paonia office) to circulation service manager. Kathy now concentrates on the database needed to supportHCN’s subscribers. When not atHCNyou can find her fishing and camping in the great outdoors or staying close to home gardening, cooking and being a grandma.
email: kathyathcn.org
Kylie Mohr
Editorial Intern Location: Montana
Kylie Mohr (she/her) is an editorial intern for the North Desk, reporting from Missoula, Montana. Mohr grew up in Washington, studied at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and loves the mountains in the middle. She cut her teeth writing for NPR and CNN in college before migrating to Wyoming, where she worked as a newspaper reporter for three years. Mohr freelanced widely after living in the Tetons, writing for publications like National Geographic and Hakai Magazine about public lands, climate change, wildfire, water and wildlife. This year, she completed a reporting fellowship at E&E News — focusing on how federal policy impacts Western people and landscapes — and earned a master’s degree in environmental journalism at the University of Montana. Mohr is excited to report thoughtfully on the nuance behind under-covered communities and ecosystems. She’s recently taken up mountain biking and fly fishing, and can often be found deep in the backcountry on skis.
Carol writes thank-you notes by the hundreds and helps coordinate our major donor work. Carol calls Colorado her home state, although, she was born in the midwest, and spent 12 years in Charlotte, North Carolina, prior to moving back to Colorado in 2014. As a Coloradan, she became interested in environmental issues at a young age and supports efforts to protect our natural resources. Her other passion is art, and the thriving arts community in the Paonia prompted Carol’s move to the Western Slope. Carol has wide-ranging experience working with nonprofits both as a staff member and as a board member. In her spare time, Carol loves to create art (of course!), spend time with family and friends, and go on adventures.
email: carolnewman at hcn.org
Michelle Nijhuis
Contributing Editor
Michelle began her journalism career in 1998, as aHigh Country Newsintern, and has written and edited forHigh Country Newsever since. Now a project editor forThe Atlantic, Michelle is the author of the 2021 bookBeloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, a history of the modern conservation movement. She has also written about science and conservation forNational Geographic,The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications, and her reporting has won several national honors and been included in fourBest Americananthologies. Until 2013, Michelle and her family lived off the electrical grid nearHCN’s home base in Paonia. They now live on the north side of the Columbia Gorge, in Washington state.
Customer Service Assistant Manager Location: Colorado
Mark handles mail-originated subscriptions and donations, as well as working directly with our customers.
Ever since Mark was a child, the woods were his home and being a steward of the environment became a way of life. His passion for the outdoors eventually grew into a 20 year career with the National Park Service. Through the NPS, Mark was able to live and work in some of the most beautiful places that this country has to offer. Mark can now be found working for HCN as part of the Customer Service team. During his off time, Mark keeps busy tending to his backyard farm and garden, exploring the peaks and forests of the western states with his wife, or playing with his kids.
email: marknydellathcn.org
Brian Oaster
Staff Writer Location: Oregon
Brian (they/them) is a staff writer at the Indigenous Affairs Desk and a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. They grew up in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains and along Colorado’s Front Range, and now report from the Pacific Northwest. Brian has written for national publications like Indian Country Today, and at a local level for publications like Portland’s award-winning weekly street paper Street Roots. At High Country News, their focus is addressing social and environmental justice for Natives, highlighting the consequences of colonialism in the West, and celebrating underreported success stories for Indigenous communities and all our relations.
email: brian.oasterathcn.org
Pamela Peters
Customer Service Specialist Location: Colorado
Pam is one of HCN’s Customer Service Specialists helping out wherever she can. She gets the mail, distributes it, updates mailing addresses and helps with mailings. She is a flexible team member who fills in wherever she is needed most.
Pam moved to Paonia from Wisconsin in fall of 1992. She has always been a farm girl surrounded by animals in her personal life including goats, horses, turkeys, chickens, dogs and cats. She loves the outdoors and hiking the local forests, as well as the beach, going there as often as possible. Pam is proud to be a part of HCN.
email: ppetersathcn.org
Alyssa Pinkerton
Director of Philanthropy Location: Colorado
Alyssa oversees all of our fundraising efforts and nurtures relationships with major donors on the East Coast.
Alyssa was born in Florida, but don’t hold that against her. She has worked for High Country News in the development department since October 2008. She enjoys building relationships with the remarkable readership, staff and board of directors. When she’s not working with donors, you can find her romping out in the wild lands, painting pictures, dancing, or soaking in hot springs – with her two darling towheads.
email: alyssap at hcn.org
Jennifer Sahn
Editor-in-Chief Location: California
Jennifer oversees all of HCN’s editorial content, including the magazine and website, and serves as a key spokesperson for the org at events and with other media.
Jennifer has logged two decades at nonprofit magazines, editing award-winning journalism and narrative nonfiction and leading teams to new heights. She grew up in California, settled in New England to become editor of Orion magazine, then returned to California as executive editor of Pacific Standard. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards, Utne Independent Press Awards, Pushcart Prize, O. Henry Prize, John Burroughs Essay Awards, and the Best American Series anthologies. She lives in Santa Barbara, where she walks the frontcountry trails and wild stretches of coast.
Marketing Communications Manager Location: New Mexico
Michael works on engaging HCN’s audience and welcomes any and all feedback from readers.
He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and worked at newspapers in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Steamboat Springs, Colorado, before joining the Texas Observer in Austin.
email: michael.schrantzathcn.org
Bradon Schwarz
Charitable Gifts Advisor Location: California
Bradon helps to advance our fundraising efforts by nurturing relationships with major donors on the West Coast.
Raised as a homeschooled kid from California, Bradon made most of his childhood memories at his family’s cabin on the Grand Mesa in Colorado. After researching centuries of old records and articles, he grew fascinated by his heritage throughout the West. Bradon has grown into a seasoned fundraiser over six-years working with various causes. When he’s not working with donors, he fills his time up searching for dog-friendly trails, over-watering healthy plants, and replacing dead plants with ones that aren’t.
Anna joined the High Country News team in Paonia as our editorial intern in July 2016 and is now an assistant editor based in Oregon, where she writes and edits for HCN’s Indigenous Affairs Desk.
She has spent the majority of her life in the Pacific Northwest, from growing up in rural Oregon to becoming a news reporter on a small cluster of islands in northern Washington. In 2018 and in 2019 she received Best Coverage of Native America from the Native American Journalism Association.
Miacel Spotted Elk (Navajo/Northern Cheyenne) is an editorial intern at the Indigenous Affairs desk. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, she spent her early childhood years near Bears Ears National Monument and has called the state’s capital home ever since. Finishing her undergraduate degree later this year in political science at the University of Utah, she became interested in covering politics, economy and national policy priorities affecting tribal affairs. From interning atNPR’s Washington (D.C.) desk to writing about Indigenous tourism forThe Thrillist, Miacel looks forward to employing her skills and experience highlighting the complexities of the West and Indian Country. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, hiking and watching films.
McKenna oversees and edits HCN’s long-form feature stories.
She has backpacked, biked, and rafted in every state in HCN’s area of coverage and has covered much of the Southwest and California by foot. She went to St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and recently moved back West from New York, where she received her Master’s In Oral History from Columbia University and worked as an editor at The New Yorker Magazine, focusing on features, books and politics. She was also an organizer of The New Yorker Magazine Union and remains committed to employees working together to advocate for their rights, values and leadership within all types of organizations. She loves sleeping outside, preferably under bright stars, and is happiest in the desert.
email:mckennastayner at hcn.org
Hannah Stevens
Development Associate Location: Colorado
Hannah oversees our monthly giving program and helps manage our donor tracking system.
She holds a degree in biology from Colorado College and a MA in conservation biology from Columbia University. She spent more than a decade at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, where she had her nose in herbarium collections (including holding in hand a plant collected by Charles Darwin himself), data management, phytochemistry, international field work and, most recently, headed the Geographic Information Systems conservation research program. Hannah recently landed back in Paonia where once upon a time her family had an organic garlic farm. You can now find her managing HCN’s monthly giving program, which includes helping over 800 wonderful donors, and helping with other development campaigns. In her spare time, she tries to keep up with her daughters and partner (who hopes one day she will actually row a boat; paddleboarding is really more her style), chickens, and a big garden.
email: hannahstevensathcn.org
Diane Sylvain
Copy Editor Location: Colorado
Diane ensures that editorial, marketing and fundraising copy meets HCN style.
She is a one-time Air Force brat who grew up all over the country but lost her heart to western Colorado. When she’s not copy editing, she writes rambling essays about nothing in particular and occasionally even finds the time to do a bit of artwork. She’s worked for HCN since 1990 and lives in a very old and indescribably ramshackle house in Paonia, surrounded by mountainous piles of books, interesting rocks and seashells, and patrolled at night by the ghosts of all the cats who have gone before. Her hobbies include making bad puns, complaining about sciatica, displaying an obnoxious certainty about grammar, and enjoying long walks, leisurely train trips and periodic retreats to the nearest Trappist monastery, which as everybody knows is a great place to meet interesting guys.
Jonathan Thompson was born and raised in southwestern Colorado. He owned and edited the Silverton Standard & the Miner newspaper in the tiny town of Silverton, Colorado, and was the editor-in-chief of High Country News from 2007 to 2010. He is the editor ofThe Land Desk, the author of two non-fiction books,River of Lost SoulsandSagebrush Empire, and one novel,Behind the Slickrock Curtain.He currently lives in Greece with his wife, Wendy.
Cindy is responsible for the design and look of the magazine, and ensures that materials from across the organization adhere to the HCN brand.
She has been responsible for making High Country News look its best since 1990, including shepherding its transition from newspaper to magazine and from black and white to full color. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she works with photographers and artists and heads up the design and production of the magazine. Cindy and her husband, Don Olsen, also work on the family farm and are continuing to add on to the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Usonian house they built overlooking their hayfields.
email: cindy at hcn.org
Theo Whitcomb
Editorial Intern Location: Oregon
Theo Whitcomb (he/him) is an editorial intern at the South Desk. From Ashland, Oregon, and currently in Portland, he writes about land-use and natural resource politics in and around the Klamath-Siskiyou region of Northern California. After teaching at a community college in South India, Theo began freelancing for Undark and The Baffler and co-founded a publication called Counterbound, which publishes literature and art. While at High Country News, Theo is looking forward to writing about everything from water to cannabis. When not reporting, he loves to read, walk in the woods and swim (ideally all in the same day).
Tammy works directly with our customers to solve any problem with subscriptions and donations.
She grew up in the finger lakes region of New York State but set out for Colorado after receiving her bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology from SUNY Potsdam. She has been helping High Country News readers since 2008. In her spare time she enjoys hanging out with her husband and four kids, camping, hiking, swimming and playing guitar.
email: tammyyorkathcn.org
Mary Zachman
Finance and HR Administrator Location: Colorado
Mary manages our books and makes sure everyone gets paid on time.
She grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and lived on the west coast of Florida. The West called her back, and she moved to Colorado in 2009, first landing Montrose and then in Ridgway. In 2015 Mary found Paonia and has felt at home ever since. She shares her home with her husband, John, and their two dogs. Mary has three grown kids who followed her to Colorado. She loves hiking and exploring the beautiful Colorado landscapes. Mary’s passion is real, healthy, organic food, and she loves spending time cooking with the bounty that Paonia offers.
COMMUNICATIONS & DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
Position Type: Full time, exempt Location: Bozeman, MT Compensation: $42,000 - $47,000 Benefits: Major Medical Insurance, up to 5% match on a 401k, PTO, flexible...
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High Country News, an award-winning media organization covering the communities and environment of the Western United States, seeks a part-time Customer Service Assistant, based at...
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CONSERVATION PROGRAM MANAGER
Illinois Valley SWCD is offering an incredible career opportunity in beautiful SW Oregon. .8+ FTE, plus benefits. Visit our website for full details.
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The Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks, the official philanthropic non-profit partner with the National Park Service Southeast Utah Group, is seeking an Executive Director....
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Application deadline: May 9, 2022 Anticipated start date: June 15, 2022 About the position Are you passionate about building authentic relationships, supporting tribally led initiatives,...
LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Eastern Sierra Land Trust (ESLT) is seeking a Land Conservation Program Director to join our nationally accredited land trust. This is a full-time position based...
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Reports to: Communications and Outreach Director Location: Ashton, Idaho (partial remote schedule possible) Status: Full-time, 40 hours per week Timing and Duration: Position open until...
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The Western Landowners Alliance (WLA) was founded in 2012 by landowners and managers to increase the wellbeing of working lands in the American West and...
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The San Juan Mountains Association (SJMA) wilderness crew members work in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to monitor wilderness characteristics, conduct trail work, and...
Position Type: Full time, exempt Location: Bozeman, MT Compensation: $42,000 - $47,000 Benefits: Major Medical Insurance, up to 5% match on a 401k, PTO, flexible...
WEST REGION WILDFIRE COUNCIL- RIDGWAY, CO The partnership & collaboration director will provide leadership and/or assistance with all initiatives that create and enhance connections between...
Are you passionate about environmental conservation and connecting people to the outdoors? The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) is looking for someone with outdoor leadership...
Fruit/berry/veggie/flower farm in the mountain town of Mount Shasta. Small home, 2 barns (one with apartment), and more. Famously pure air and water.
High Country News, an award-winning media organization covering the communities and environment of the Western United States, seeks a part-time Customer Service Assistant, based at...
Position Type: Full time, exempt Location: Bozeman, MT highly preferred, remote negotiable Compensation: $50,000-54,000 Benefits: Major Medical Insurance, up to 5% match on a 401k,...
Illinois Valley SWCD is offering an incredible career opportunity in beautiful SW Oregon. .8+ FTE, plus benefits. Visit our website for full details.
Formed in 1980, Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action brings people together to build grassroots power through community organizing and leadership development. The Alliance works...
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The Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks, the official philanthropic non-profit partner with the National Park Service Southeast Utah Group, is seeking an Executive Director....
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Reports to: Communications and Outreach Director Location: Ashton, Idaho (partial remote schedule possible) Status: Full-time, 40 hours per week Timing and Duration: Position open until...
The Western Landowners Alliance (WLA) was founded in 2012 by landowners and managers to increase the wellbeing of working lands in the American West and...
The San Juan Mountains Association (SJMA) wilderness crew members work in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to monitor wilderness characteristics, conduct trail work, and...
St. Lawrence University seeks to fill a temporary, full time, Assistant Director position in the Outdoor Program. The Outdoor Program provides professional outdoor recreational and...
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