About The Energy Mix

PPM at birth: 317

Mitchell is founding publisher and managing editor of The Energy Mix. He is rumoured to be a frighteningly fast writer, after working seven years as a journalist, 35-plus as a commercial writer, 45-plus as a sustainable energy and climate specialist, and now again as a journalist and editor. In October, 2019, he delivered a TEDx Ottawa talk on building wider public support for faster, deeper carbon cuts. He received the Clean50 Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2022.

Passions: Energy and climate solutions, clear writing (from other writers), improv comedy.

Proud moment: Building a model wind turbine out of wooden stir sticks with his daughter when she was 11 years old.

Favourite quote: “The plural of anecdote is not evidence.”

Climate action superpower: Imagining how “unusual suspects” can see themselves in a picture of a post-carbon future, then putting a foundation under the idea. Helping people balance climate anxiety with climate solutions, and vice versa.

Email: mitchell<@>theenergymix.com

PPM at birth: 341

Farida has worked as a writer and editor in the media and journalism fields for nearly 10 years. She joined The Energy Mix in 2021 hoping to make a small contribution where it matters. Farida holds a Master of Journalism degree and aspires to report on sustainability and social justice as soon as she (imminently) gets her act together.

Passions: Short stories, history, rare eight-hour nights of sleep.

Proud moment: Bicycled from Vancouver to Seattle without GPS (spent the night in a post office, but hey, what’s life without a few wrong turns?)

Climate action superpower: Practitioner of the lost arts of walking places and mending things.

PPM at birth: 320

Gaye is a senior writer for The Mix. She has been a climate activist for more than 10 years, often via the written word, and is a former part-time English professor at the University of Ottawa.

Passions: Winter, oceans, poetry, and riding her bike.

Proudest moment: Watching her daughter, then age 10, speak before a crowd of 10,000 at the 100% Possible rally held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in November 2015, a few days before the signing of the Paris Agreement.

Favourite quote: “Have courage, and be kind.”

Climate action superpower: Claims not to have climate action superpower. Does carry a gorgeous, bright yellow umbrella that keeps out the rain and wind and doubles as a stick with which to (gently) whack climate deniers.

PPM at birth: 355

Chris is a staff writer for The Energy Mix. He has several years’ experience sustainably raising livestock and works to make the policy process more accessible to farmers.

Passions: Canoeing, history.

Proudest moment: Becoming a father.

Climate action superpower: Grazing sheep in pasture-based systems to sequester carbon in soils.

PPM at birth: 313

Carrie is a retired professor of journalism and communication who was a tenured faculty member at John Carroll University in Ohio for 13 years. Prior to that, she spent 15 years as a working journalist, 12 of those at the Ottawa Citizen as a reporter and copy editor.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College in biology and psychology, plus a master’s in journalism and a doctorate in mass communication from Carleton University’s School of Journalism & Communication. During her time as a journalist, she often drew upon her biology background to write stories on health and environmental issues. As a professor, she taught health and environmental reporting almost every year, including three years teaching a linked course with a physics professor on the science and communication of climate change. She also served for nearly a decade as faculty adviser to the student Environmental Issues Group.

Her academic website includes links to many of her publications.

PPM at birth: 320

Lella is a community organizer, activist, and facilitator whose path has included journalism, project management, political advocacy, and a lot of support for ordinary citizens taking extraordinary actions. As lead for the Community Engagement team, she focuses on decision-makers having the climate news they need to more urgently cut carbon use and dependency.

Passions: Growing food, non-fiction, walking everywhere, and active participation in democracy.

Climate action superpower: Never, ever, giving up.

Energized by: This call to action from James Baldwin: “The world is before you, and you need not take it, or leave it, as it was when you came in.”

PPM at birth: 358

Mike is passionate about policy solutions that can shape more vibrant, resilient, and sustainable communities. Since graduating from the UWaterloo Environment & Business program in 2017, Mike has spent his career working in the municipal and non-profit sectors to advance climate and circular economy programs.
Passions: Music, biking, camping, and cooking. Sometimes all at once.

Proud moment: Sea kayaking the Queen Charlotte Strait & Broughton Archipelago.

Favourite quote: “Lead with your heart, but take your brain with you.”

Climate action superpower: Finding common ground in climate conversations.

PPM at birth: 356

Megan identifies as a multipotentialite and is a plant and cell biologist by trade with a passion for soil regeneration. She holds her Ph.D. in Environmental and Life Sciences, which sparked her enthusiasm for communicating complex scientific topics. She believes that microbes hold the solutions to the world’s pressing issues. Megan’s current focus is in the non-profit sector where she champions community engagement and climate solutions with a special interest in regenerative food systems.

Passions: Microbes, growing and preserving her own food, horseback riding, and learning to farm regeneratively.

Proud moment: Achieving her lifelong dream of owning a farm in Alberta with her husband, Yoshi.

Climate action superpower: Keeping an open mind to learn from diverse perspectives, paired with the persistence to not yield in the face of challenges.

PPM at birth: 327

Karri is a climate policy analyst turned regenerative wool farmer and knitwear designer. She also serves as a marketing strategist and copywriter for The Energy Mix. With more than 25 years of experience in the national not-for-profit sector, Karri now lives, plays, creates, and farms at Fermes Leystone Farms on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Peoples in west Québec.

Passions: Sheep, wool, and knitting, climate justice, community building.

Proud moment: Serving as a sheep midwife to her ewe, Cara Dune, as she navigated a difficult birth. (This was also the first time Karri was present at the birth of an animal.)

Favourite quote: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Climate action superpower: Bridging the worlds of federal climate policy with localized, tangible agricultural practices that benefit the climate.

PPM at birth: 333

Janet Patterfung spent her first year on the Energy Mix team as Project Manager of the Green Resilience Project, a series of community conversations on the links between climate change, income security, and community resilience. With more than 15 years of experience in fundraising, events, and community engagement, Janet is currently fundraising to supercharge The Mix and continue the work of Green Resilience.

Passions: Pets & wildlife, climate justice, human rights, a perfectly ripe peach.

Proud moment: Watching my five-year-old child, who is afraid of bugs, rescue one from drowning.

Climate action superpower: The ability to connect with people.

PPM at birth: 356

Giselle’s background is in the non-profit sector, with roots in the environment and arts fields. Since 2011, social development, events, and community engagement have been at the forefront in her work. Fully bilingual in Spanish and English, Giselle has experience working in Latin America, Canada, and the United States.

Passions: Music, recording & composing, community connectivity.

Proud moment: Picking the first ripe fruit from my fig tree.

Climate action superpower: Integrating the arts and creative approaches into projects.

PPM at birth: 341

Eric is the digital manager of The Energy Mix, including the website and e-digest. He has 20 years of experience in branding, graphic design, web development and email marketing communication.

Passions: Baseball, art, music and whiskey.

Proudest moment: Marrying his wife, Sarah.

Climate action superpower: Exploring the environmental impacts of animal agriculture and promoting vegetarian/vegan alternatives.

PPM at birth: 320

Jody is a freelance writer for The Energy Mix. She lives and writes on the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot confederacy and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. Jody trained as a journalist, is a web content strategist by day and a political blogger by night, and recently became a grandmother.

Passions: Photography, bicycles, music, movies, thunderstorms, and reading several books at once (translation: has a short attention span).

Favourite quote: “You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.” (Ursula K. LeGuin)

Proudest moment: Starting over in my late 40’s—taking my life back. And lacing up my roller skates again without any major injuries (so far).

Climate action superpower: As a former PR person for the fossil fuel industry I’ve now switched sides and bring my inside knowledge to bear.

PPM at birth: 314

Joan is an award-winning journalist and author of seven books. She worked for more than 30 years in various African countries, reporting for the BBC World Service, AP, Reuters, CBC, and many other Canadian and international media. She’s worked as a science writer and communicator for international forestry and agriculture research centres, and as a researcher for international NGOs investigating extractive industries, land-grabbing, and a host of other environmental, climate, and social justice issues. Today she is back home in Nova Scotia, a small part of Mi’kma’ki, where she continues to worry—and write—about these issues.

Passions: Walking, reading, being in the woods or on the water, and investigating/calling out BS and PR.

Climate action superpower: Something I wish I had. Instead, I have climate action inspiration that comes from listening to and learning from my “kids” and other young people, and contemplating the future confronting their little ones.

Alex began in journalism as a Reuters stringer in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It’s been downhill ever since, though 26 years at the BBC let him pay the rent. He’s spent the last eight years learning the job from his youngers and betters.

Passions: The British countryside and its pubs.

Proud moment: Writing several stories which prompted changes in government policies on poverty, nuclear power, and human rights. Oh, and whales. The rest of the job was inconsequential fun.

Favourite quote: From a colleague who remained in Baghdad as the first Gulf War began: “I stayed to tell our listeners what was happening in their name.”

Climate action superpower: (Remembering the question every journalist should ask themselves before doing an interview): “Why is this lying ******* telling me this particular lie at this particular moment?”

Journalist from the age of 16 in weekly, evening, and daily newspapers, first in New Zealand and then the UK. He was, successively, letters editor, arts editor, literary editor, and science editor of the Guardian, with a brief 1970s career as a film critic too. He has also written for, among other journals, Nature, the Lancet, and the London Review of Books. His appetite for climate science dates from the 1988 Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere.

Passions: Books, walking, travel, family.

Favourite quote: “In a democracy, scientists have an obligation to explain their science. Unfortunately, there is no corresponding obligation to listen. That’s where we come in.”

Climate action superpower: Fear of failure. Another self-quote: “My experience of journalism is if you’re not hounded by fear, panic, and a profound sense of inadequacy, then you’re doing it wrong.”

Tim was a deeply valued member of the Energy Mix team until his death in February 2025. We miss his voice, his generosity, his meticulous persistence, and the compassion and caring he brought to his masterly coverage and analysis of the climate-nature crises.

Paul Brown worked as a reporter and news editor on a number of British regional and national newspapers for 40 years, leaving the Guardian in August 2005 after 24 years, 16 as environment correspondent. He has written nine books, four for children, mostly about environmental subjects.

Paul has taught journalism in more than 25 countries over the last 10 years for the Guardian Foundation and the United National Environment Programme.

Mitchell is founding publisher and managing editor of The Energy Mix. He is rumoured to be a frighteningly fast writer, after working seven years as a journalist, 35-plus as a commercial writer, and 40-plus as a sustainable energy and climate specialist. In October, 2019, he delivered a TEDx Ottawa talk on building wider public support for faster, deeper carbon cuts

Vicky is communications lead at Climate Action Network Canada and a graduate of the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University in K’jipuktuk (Halifax), where she studied international development and contemporary studies. Vicky has worked with a range of organizations focussing on climate action, food security, and children’s rights, as well as with obscure theatre companies and the Canadian Museum of Immigration. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor adventures and tries with limited success to keep her plants alive.

Stephen is an environmental lawyer and founder of Ecovision. He served as executive director of Sierra Club Canada and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, as a partner and counsel with a leading Ottawa-based energy and environmental consulting firm, and as director of a federal environmental regulatory program. Stephen was policy director and general counsel at Nature Canada until December 2019, and continues to serve there as emeritus counsel. He has taught environmental law at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

Sheila is co-chair of the Basic Income Canada Network and former executive director of the National Council of Welfare. Her 29 years of federal public service spanned front-line work, policy analysis and development, international relations, and senior management, with a focus on improving fairness and equality, and on gender and race in particular. She has policy expertise in areas of income security and taxation, such as child tax benefits, child support, maternity/parental benefits, pensions, and social assistance. Her insight also comes from experiencing poverty as a young parent. Sheila is grateful, in her retirement, to have resources, time, and health to do volunteer work and help care for twin grandsons.