Chip Giller | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Environmental studies |
| Alma mater | Brown University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Founder of Grist |
| Awards | Heinz Award (2009), Time Hero of the Environment (2007) |
Chip Giller is an American journalist, environmentalist, and nonprofit founder. He is best known as the founder of Grist , [1] an online environmental news organization. Giller has won numerous awards for his media innovations and environmental work, including receiving a Heinz Award [2] and being named a "Hero of the Environment" by Time magazine. [3] He has been featured in media outlets like Vanity Fair , Newsweek , and Outside , and has participated as a guest on broadcast programs including NBC's Today and PBS's Now .
Giller was a reporter with High Country News and an editor at Greenwire before founding Grist. He was a three-time journalism fellow with the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources and a senior fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program. [4]
Giller founded the online environmental news site Grist in 1999. Grist was among the first publications to draw connections between the environment and such areas as food, economics, and health.[ citation needed ] In 2023, it became the first climate media organization to win a National Magazine Award in General Excellence (in the Literature, Science and Politics category). [5] Grist's work has included political coverage, including exclusive interviews with all of the candidates in the 2008 presidential election; a seven-week series on poverty and the environment; and influential climate and energy reporting. Grist earned Webby Awards in 2005 [6] and 2006, [7] an honor described by The New York Times as "the Oscars of the internet". [8] Utne gave Grist its Independent Press Award for Online Political Coverage in 2003 [9] and 2005, [10] citing its "rich mix of hard-hitting eco-political coverage, practical tips, hopeful tales, and rib-tickling whimsy." The National Wildlife Federation honored Grist with the National Conservation Achievement Award in 2006. [11] In 2007, Grist published Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Nonpompous, Nonpreachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day, which won a silver medal at the Independent Publisher Book Awards. [12]
In 2024, Giller co‑founded Agog: The Immersive Media Institute with philanthropist Wendy Schmidt to advance the use of immersive technologies such as extended reality and spatial computing for addressing social and environmental challenges. [13] He currently serves as the organization’s executive director. [14]
Giller received the 15th annual Heinz Award with Special Focus on the Environment in 2009 for making environmental issues relevant to new and broad audiences. [2] He was named a "Hero of the Environment" by Time in 2007 [3] and received the Jane Bagley Lehman Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy from the Tides Foundation in 2004, recognizing the role Grist has played in increasing environmental awareness. [15] In 2001, Giller was named a "New Media Hero" by AlterNet. [16]
Giller, a native of Massachusetts, obtained his honors degree in environmental studies from Brown University. [2] He lives with his wife and two children in the Seattle area. [4]