Tik Root

Senior Staff Writer at Grist

I'm a freelance journalist working across mediums (print, video and audio). While currently roaming the U.S., I have reported from a number of countries (Yemen, Spain, Rwanda, Brazil, Belize, Turkey, Russia, etc. ) on everything from Al-Qaeda to the Olympics.

My work has appeared with The Washington Post, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Harper’s and the BBC, among other outlets. I hold a B.A. from Middlebury College and a M.A. in Science, Health and Environment journalism from Columbia University. I am proficient (though rusty) in Arabic.

I'm grateful for the support that I have received, at various times, from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Overseas Press Club, The Deadline Club, SAJA, and GroundTruth. For the latter, I was a co-winner of a regional Edward R. Murrow award. A project I helped produce also won the Society of Environmental Journalist award for outstanding explanatory reporting.