Based in San Francisco, with offices around the country, Jessica manages and writes for the Earthjustice’s blog, monthly newsletter and quarterly magazine.
In her new role, Jessica will direct an expanding editorial team in creating engaging stories about Earthjustice’s work. During her five-year tenure there, Jessica has covered a range of environmental issues, from fracking concerns in Cooperstown, New York (home of the baseball hall of fame), to pesticide issues created by the unfettered use of genetically engineered crops in Hawaii.
Jessica credits her time at the Knight Center, specifically managing and writing for EJ Magazine, as a major factor in influencing her career trajectory. The ability to tell great stories and explain complex environmental issues, just two skills she picked up at the Knight Center, are critical for any communications job, she said.
Prior to Earthjustice, Jessica wrote for a number of online and print publications, including Plenty, Grist, Audubon, Environmental Health News and Earth Island Journal. She moved from New York to the Bay Area in 2009 and now lives in Berkeley with her husband, MSU journalism alum Wes Holing (MA ’08), and two dogs. She enjoys cycling the area’s many scenic bike routes.

Knight Center graduate Alice Rossignol (MA ’11) recently accepted a Development Writer and Editor position with The Nature Conservancy in Minneapolis, where she will produce fundraising materials to advance the organization’s efforts across North America.
The move follows more than three years serving as a writer and editor for the Conservancy’s work in Michigan and the Great Lakes. During that time she helped raise millions of dollars to advance conservation initiatives that protect the region’s lands and waters.
Alice credits her tenure at the Knight Center, specifically reporting for Great Lakes Echo, as a major factor that influenced her career trajectory. Like Echo, The Nature Conservancy approaches its work through a bioregional lens, tackling issues at the scale of large, complex ecosystems like the Great Lakes rather than a single river, forest or state.
Entering the job market with this experience and perspective gave her a leg up on other candidates, she says.

She also recognizes the Knight Center for fostering a community of musically-inclined alumni. Before moving to the Twin Cities, Alice, Brian Bienkowski (MA ’12), Jeff Gillies (MA ’11) and Andy McGlashen (MA ‘09) founded the minor league bluegrass/old-time groups, The Apostles and Uncle Alice and the Gals.
Despite failing to top the charts and establish their own Wikipedia pages, they left at least a slight mark on the porch-picking scene of Lansing’s eastside.