CivicStory‘s New Jersey Sustainability Reporting project is a 3-in-1 media collaborative, fellowship program, and digital platform. The project highlights newsworthy sustainability activity and initiatives taking place throughout New Jersey in municipalities, on campuses, and in homes and neighborhoods. 

CivicStory believes society’s pivot to sustainability requires deep structural change, and daily news has a critical role to play.

Newsrooms & Fellows

Fellowship 6 (March 2024 to July 2024) 

Student Ecology-Justice Fellows 

• Aalok Bhatt, Rutgers University
• Parisa Burton, The Signal (The College of New Jersey)
• Myara Gomez, The Signal
• Caroline Poskrobko, NJ Spark, Green Print (Rutgers University)
• Tristan Weisenbach, The Signal

Fellowship 5 (March 2023-November 2023)

• Ashley Mendoza, freelance
• Clyde Hughes, Front Runner New Jersey
• Donelle Wedderburn, freelance
• Elham Shabahat, freelance
• Hina Naqvi, Quo Vadis (Middlesex College)
• Jackie Roman, The Star-Ledger / NJ.com
• Nicola A. Menzie, Faithfully Magazine
• Reina Gattuso, freelance
• Yukthi Sangoi, The Vector (NJIT)

Fellowship 4 (April-July 2022)

• Amanda Wallace, Stockton University’s The Argo
• Annmary (Ann) Ibrahim, NJIT’s The Vector
• Clyde Hughes, Front Runner New Jersey
• Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor
• Evelynn Morrill, The Sandpaper
• Janique Burke, Trenton Journal
• Kimberly Redmond, TAPinto Hoboken and TAPinto Jersey City
• Moyinoluwa Akeju, New Jersey City University’s Gothic Times
• Opetunde Akeju, New Jersey City University’s Gothic Times
• Thomas Wiedmann, TAPinto Newark
• Talia Wiener, Montclair Local

 Fellowships 1-3 (2019-2022)

• Alexis Shanes, NorthJersey.com/The Record
• Alicia Tedesco, The Vector (NJIT)
• Amanda Wallace, The Argo (Stockton University)
• Ambreen Ali, VillageGreenNJ.com
• Bill Barlow, Cape May County Herald
• Blessing Akeju, The Gothic Times (NJ City University)
• Brianna Baker, Green Philly and Next City
• Joseph Berenato, The Hammonton Gazette
• Kelly Ramos, The Nubian News
• Kristin Guglietti, The Hammonton Gazette
• Molly Fichter, WBGO (Newark Public Radio)
• Stephanie Avila, WBGO (Newark Public Radio)
• Steven Rodas, TAPinto Camden
• Vernon Agrodnek, The Press of Atlantic City

Founders, Affiliates, and Advisors

CivicStory’s New Jersey Sustainability Reporting Project began with a meeting of 16 representatives of environmental, educational, and nonprofit news in January 2019. Founding partners later pledged seed funding and involvement in planning:

• CivicStory, project lead and fiduciary
• Center for Cooperative Media (CCM) at Montclair State University
• New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS)
• Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE)

Nine nonprofit organizations committed in-kind support, such as fellow orientation training, advisement, and dissemination support:

• Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC)
• Camden County Municipal Utility Authority
• Ironbound Community Corporation
• New Jersey Audubon
• New Jersey Future
• PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies at Montclair State University
• Sustainable Jersey
• Sustainable Princeton
• US Green Building Council, NJ Chapter

In its startup period, the project had an Advisory Board:

• Co-chair: Daniel Day, VP Operations, Princeton University Office of Communications
• Co-chair: Kevin Englert, Former NJSR Hub Project Director; Marketing Analyst for Condé Nast
• Jon Gertner, author and journalist
• Susan Haig, CivicStory Founder
• Dr. Maurice Hall, PhD, Dean of the School of the Arts & Communication, The College of New Jersey
• Daniela Shebitz, PhD, College of Natural, Applied and Health Sciences, School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, Kean University
• Kimberly Tran, Princeton University student (’23)

Support

CivicStory’s NJSR project is partially funded by a diverse group of donors, ranging from foundation sponsorship of $10,000 to small individual donations. 

Contact

Senior Editor, CivicStory: editor@civicstory.org