Misty Edgecomb
Misty Edgecomb,
from Limestone, Maine, received a B.S. in Natural Resources (what is
currently the EES program) with a focus on environmental law and
policy from the University of Maine in the year 2000. Along with her
B.S. degree, she also attained a BA in journalism, with which she
used to report on environmental issues from 2000-2005. While at the
University of Maine, she was active in the Student Organization for
Natural Resources (Sonar), as well as an editor for the Maine Campus
during her fourth year. Misty considered Field Natural History of
Maine with Ron Davis was “one of the best useful courses [she’s]
ever taken, and as a reporter, [her] goal was always to get into the
field and see what was really happening.”
Over the years, Misty has
done a variety of environmental writing and reporting with employers
including the Bangor Daily as well as the Rochester Democrat &
Chronicle. Throughout her experience, she has spent a lot of time at
the state house in Augusta and has covered presidential events, but
has also had the experience of kayaking with loon researchers,
paddling the Allagash, and climbing Mt. Katahdin.
“Environmental writing is
a dream job,” stated Misty. “It incorporates history, science,
politics, and culture, as well as getting you access to some really
cool places.” She credited the science and policy background at
University of Maine for helping her to address issues in such depth.
“Knowing how to access the right background information made me able
to ask intelligent questions…it made me a better reporter.” Misty
said she always saw herself as a translator, “explaining complex
scientific and policy questions to those who didn’t have a
background in the subjects, and trying to write the stories in such
a ways that readers would share [her] fascination with the workings
of the natural world.”
Misty won a national award
from the Society of Environmental Journalists for a package on the
science of climate change that came out in the Bangor Daily in early
2006. She also won a fellowship to spend a summer term studying
environmental law at Vermont Law School. She spent 2006 through 2008
living in Eugene, Oregon, where she completed a MA in journalism,
focusing on long, narrative-style stories.
Misty has been in Seoul,
South Korea for over a year working on a nonfiction book about
adoption during the Korean War, on a Fulbright research grant.
Although it has been a bit of a departure from her environmental
writing, it has been a very important project for her personally.
She is scheduled to leave Korea in early October, and in addition to
completing her book, she will begin working full-time with
The Nature Conservancy.
While working for The
Nature Conservancy, Misty will be based in their Conshohocken, PA
office where she will handle communications and public relations for
the Philly and New Jersey media markets.
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