Sustainability & Civics News Site Hires Development specialist
Release from CivicStory
South Orange, NJ, October 3, 2022 //Wanda Knapik is joining CivicStory, a nonprofit news organization, as the organization’s Development Specialist. In this role, Knapik will focus on building relationships and raising funds to further the organization’s mission of advancing solutions-based news on sustainability action, civics education, and social justice in New Jersey.
Wanda has been educating young people across the state about ecological solutions and permaculture design for 15 years, as the owner of My Local Garden LLC. She is passionate about inspiring and helping citizens and communities grow food, in urban and suburban landscapes, rooftops, city blocks, backyards, and front yards. With her leadership, project management, and relationship-building skills, she has brought healthy organic food to hundreds of backyard and community gardens, partnering with municipalities, school, universities, and environmental organizations to effect change. The solutions she focuses on are planting trees, creating rain gardens, converting areas of grass lawn to pollinator habitats, and cultivating organic vegetable and herb gardens.
“I’m excited to be part of CivicStory as the Development Specialist,” said Knapik. “I look forward to inspiring current and future readers and donors, by supporting the organization to tell stories that uplift and empower people to pursue a culture of ecological regeneration and healing.”
Founded in 2010, CivicStory is one of six nonprofit news organizations in New Jersey that are members of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). CivicStory’s signature project—the NJ Sustainability Reporting hub—is a statewide news collaborative designed to increase the volume of sustainability reporting. The project supports four- to six-month reporting fellowships, and aggregates sustainability stories at www.SRHub.org. The project involves both student and professional reporters, along with university journalism faculty and newsroom editors as advisors.
The search team was comprised of CivicStory advisors Geoffrey Belinfante and Maya Curry, and trustees Susan Haig and Genevieve Manderville.
About CivicStory: CivicStory's mission is to enlarge the “civics space” in news by advancing solutions-based stories about ecological sustainability, civics, and creative change. Our stories, public forums, and fellowships focus on relationships among sustainability, diverse communities, and a thriving democracy, using language that is clear for general audiences. Founded in 2009 as NJ Arts News, CivicStory rebranded in 2015 to reflect its focus on civics and environmental sustainability. Its signature project, the NJ Sustainability Reporting hub, generates news stories about environmental sustainability. It equips newsrooms and reporters to cover sustainability actions in New Jersey communities.
Press Contact: Susan Haig, publisher@civicstory.org
www.CivicStory.org
www.SRhub.org