People

Meaghan Parker

Executive Director

Meaghan Parker is the executive director of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. Prior to joining CASW, Meaghan was the executive director of the Society of Environmental Journalists from 2018-2023. Under her leadership, SEJ doubled the size of its Fund for Environmental Journalism; launched new fellowship, training and outreach programs; and committed to integrating equity throughout its activities, which has significantly increased the diversity of its membership. She also represented SEJ in a partnership with CASW and the Association of Health Care Journalists to establish the National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships (SHERF). Before stepping down to join the staff, she served for six years on SEJ’s Board of Directors.

Prior to joining the SEJ staff, Meaghan was the senior writer/editor and partnerships director for the Environmental Change and Security Program of the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan policy forum in Washington, D.C., where she worked for 15 years. She was the founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning New Security Beat, a daily blog covering environment, health and security; and the supervising producer of the award-winning documentary trilogy, “Healthy People, Healthy Environment,” which was filmed in Tanzania, Nepal and Ethiopia. She was the lead editor of “A New Climate for Peace,” an online platform and independent study commissioned by the foreign ministers of the G7.

As a Public Policy Scholar at the Wilson Center in 2024, Meaghan produced a report on “Funding the Future of Environmental Journalism.” She currently serves on the board of The Uproot Project and the advisory councils of Planet Forward, New Security Beat, the Mississippi River Ag & Water Desk, and the Nova Institute for Health Media Fellowship. She is a member of SEJ, the National Association of Science Writers and The Uproot Project. Contact Meaghan.