Biography

I am an independent writer, editor, and radio reporter based in New Mexico. My work has appeared in Ms., New Mexico Magazine, The Progressive, Columbia Journalism Review, Women’s eNews, High Country News, Santa Fe Reporter, New Mexico Independent, The Mountain Gazette, Forest, Audubon, Orion, and Law & Politics.

I also report and produce radio stories for KUNM 89.9 and write a monthly column about environmental issues for the Santa Fe Reporter. This year, I’m excited to be reporting for New Mexico In Depth’s Native America Project.

In the past, I’ve worked as managing editor of Tribal College Journal and assistant editor of High Country News.

I’ve served on the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande Chapter board of directors since 2011, and am currently president.

Since becoming a journalist in 2002, I’ve focused on natural resource and social justice issues in the southwestern United States. My passion has been to take complex topics—including climate change, energy development, and water rights—and write narrative-driven stories that will engage the public.

I also enjoy working with young people who are hungry to tell the stories of their own communities, and I love building relationships with students and teachers.

Before becoming obsessed with muckraking, I worked as an archaeologist and tribal consultant throughout New Mexico, Arizona, and southwestern Colorado. For six years, my job involved working outdoors in beautiful places I never would have otherwise visited. To say that those years in the field influenced how I think about everything from landscapes and culture to quality of life and whiskey would be an understatement.

You may reach me at laura.paskus@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter at @LauraPaskus.

Member of:

• Investigative Reporters and Editors – http://www.ire.org/
• Society of Professional Journalists – https://www.spj.org/