Our youth journalists are a savvy group of young professionals who have had their work featured in The New YorkerWorld ChangingNational Geographic Traveler, the Huffington PostWorld Politics ReviewCNN, the Earth Island JournalItsGettingHotInHereSolve Climate, and other on- and off-line publications. Project Survival Media journalists have also worked in close partnership with 350.org, TckTckTck, Avaaz, the Indigenous Environmental Network, the Energy Action Coalition, and Tar Sands Action to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline.

 Director

sfwShadia Fayne Wood is the founder and Director of Project Survival Media. She became an advocate for justice and the environment at an early age. When she was just seven years old, she got involved in a campaign to address the cancer cluster in her community that was caused by nuclear waste. Though young, she was driven to spearhead what would become a successful eight-year campaign to pass state legislation to refinance the Superfund Program in New York State. The bill passed into law in 2003 and in recognition of her efforts, she received the prestigious Yoshiyama Award from the Hitachi Foundation and the Brower Youth Award from the Earth Island Institute. After graduating high school, Shadia worked for the Environmental Justice & Climate Change Initiative as the youngest Campaign Coordinator in the Energy Action Coalition. She was featured in the 2007 Green Issue of Vanity Fair and is a recipient of Elle Magazine’s 2008 Green Awards. She has managed media teams for all national summits on climate change Power Shift ‘07, ‘09, and ’11 and coordinated the media team for the Youth Delegation at UN Climate Negotiations in ‘08 and ‘09.

India Team Leader

Ritu Bhardwaj is an environment documentary film maker based in New Delhi, India. Independently as well as part of a team, Ritu has worked on documentaries and television programs addressing issues like farmer deaths in India, child labor, access to justice, importance of mason training and several features on environment sustainability. Her films have been screened at various national and international film festivals. Trained to be a journalist, Ritu studied film making with specialization in video editing from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and holds MBA degree from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi. She is also the first prize winner in the video category of All India Environmental Journalism Competition, 2014.

Kenya Team Leader

cwCaroline Wambui Giochobi is an Environmental Science graduate from Kenyatta University, Kenya. She is a keen environmentalist with a specific interest in climate change, and is currently undertaking her masters in Environmental Sciences, water and aquatic systems. Caroline has been on the forefront of environmental activities in Kenya, heading Sustainable Africa Youth Foundation (SAYF), which promotes environmental awareness among youth through cartoons and films distributed all over East Africa. During the CoP 17, she actively worked with PSM, finding, writing, and sharing stories about climate change negotiations. She has also been involved in the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), working on public participation in decision-making on matters regarding climate change.

Media Agency Co-Coordinator

rvaProfessional photographer, Robert van Waarden is helping coordinate and launch Project Survival Media’s agency for hire, a service that allows movement organizations to easily hire a media professional who is also passionate about climate change issues. Robert uses his photography to help broader audiences visualize a sustainable world and is most often found documenting climate change issues.  He has spent the last five years following the trail of climate change impacts on human rights, adaptation mechanisms springing up around the world, and the social movements dedicated to building healthier communities. He has photographed four UN summits on Climate Change, wind energy across the globe, coal plants in Tennessee, villages in the Arctic, climate summits in Washington, DC and protests in South East Asia. His clean and traditional style has appeared in major national and international outlets including National Geographic Traveler, CNN, Canadian Geographic, the United Nations Environment Program, and numerous other magazines, NGO’s and non-profit publications.