Subject: Super times with superheroes
From: Chip Giller <[email-masked]>
To: John <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 23 May 2015 07:00:03 -0400

Dear John,

I’m writing this from New York City, where we’ve just had our spring board meeting. The day was full of thoughtful conversation, energizing ideas, and good laughs, and as is so often the case with these meetings, I’m feeling grateful and amazed to have such a wonderful board. I’ve started referring to them as the Justice League -- their superpowers truly merit the nickname.

As wonderful as it was to meet with that group in person, one of the best moments occurred thanks to technology: We “piped in” three next-generation staff members to talk about their work. These smart, ambitious, early-career journalists are furthering Grist’s mission every day. They’re experimenting with new types of stories and new ways of telling them, and I couldn’t be prouder. They remind me a little of myself at that age (but way more hip than I ever was or will be).

Take a look at a few of the projects they've undertaken:

Farm Size Matters: This monthlong, team-wide effort spearheaded by Managing Editor Darby Smith, who grew up on a Montana ranch, explores the role of mid-size farms in building sustainable food systems. Overflowing with colorful explainers, fun interviews (even Willie Nelson), and more, this is a labor of love that makes for can’t-miss content.

Watch how much water goes into your food is an eye-opener of a video masterminded by Amelia Urry and Daniel Penner that netted hundreds of thousands of views. Worth a look, I promise -- you might never think about chocolate or beef the same way again.

In 6 things we learned from "The Avengers: Age of Ultron", Amelia teams up with Eve Andrews for a lighthearted-but-serious film review, demonstrating just one of the ways Grist makes the topic of planetary peril a little more palatable.

I’m continually impressed by the work these staffers do, and I’m not alone: Amelia landed on MSNBC recently, and a video that Eve produced for Grist will be used by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I’m especially happy that things are humming along so well because it’s allowing me to do something previously unthinkable: I’ll be taking a sabbatical for several months during the second half of the year. It’s the first real break I’ll have had in the 17 years since I moved to Seattle to start up this little-website-that-could. With our board and staff now chock full of superheroes, I know things will be in good hands while I’m gone.

Flexingly,

Chip

P.S. Want to donate so we can buy new tights and two-way radio wristcuffs for everyone? Please be in touch with my colleague Patrick Schmitt, [email-masked].

Chip Giller
Founder and CEO, Grist <http://link.grist.org/525c85edc16bcfa46f7788ad2mpm7.7g/UktQaOYQ1eYSXqaaC6d63>
@cgiller <http://link.grist.org/525c85edc16bcfa46f7788ad2mpm7.7g/VGZIwUmOoYLjnTLQC5d54>

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