About

I'm an award-winning multimedia journalist from the Pacific Northwest. I specialize in video and audio production, as well as science and environmental journalism.I graduated magna cum laude with a degree in visual journalism and chemistry at Western Washington University, and was picked as the 2017 Outstanding Graduate by the Western Journalism Department.I'm currently a video producer at Grist, covering climate change, the environment, and science. I also make occasional cooking videos with J. Kenji López-Alt. Before that, I was editor-in-chief at The Planet Magazine, Western Washington University's award-winning environmental magazine.

Awards

WorkAwardCategoryPlaceRecipientYear
Proof of ConeptNorthwest Excellence in Journalism AwardBest Video Series, Large NewsroomFirst PlaceJesse Nichols and Daniel Penner2023
Proof of ConeptONA Online Journalism AwardsDigital Video Storytelling Series, Small/Medium NewsroomsFinalistJesse Nichols and Daniel Penner2022
Proof of ConeptFOLIO Eddie AwardsVideo, ConsumerNomineeJesse Nichols and Daniel Penner2022
Did DDT play a role in my family’s cancers?SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism AwardVideo, GeneralSecond PlaceJesse Nichols and Regan Bervar2021
Urban Climate Change and Adaptation SeriesSPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism AwardReporting SeriesFirst PlaceJesse Nichols2019
Grist ExplainersFOLIO Rising Star AwardRising StarN/AJesse Nichols2018
Troubled WatersSPJ Mark of Excellence AwardOnline/Digital Feature VideographyNational WinnerJesse Nichols and Kjell Redal2018
Political ScienceSPJ Northwest Mark of Excellence AwardNon-Fiction Magazine ArticleFinalistJesse Nichols2018
Murder MysterySPJ Northwest Mark of Excellence AwardOnline/Digital Feature VideographyFinalistJesse Nichols2018
The Planet MagazineSPJ Northwest Mark of Excellence AwardBest Student MagazineFinalistMagazine staff (Jesse Nichols EIC)2018
Yellow CedarsSPJ Northwest Mark of Excellence AwardBest Radio FeatureJesse NicholsFirst Place2017

Contact me

Feel free to reach out!

Portfolio

I'm a video producer at Grist. You can check out my latest Grist work here. For other selected video work, check out my reel:

Selected projects

Proof of Concept

Proof of Concept is an award-winning science video series from Grist. The series — now in its second season — profiles the science and scientists behind some of the most surprising recent environmental research and discoveries.

Grist Explainers

Through a combination of deep reporting and data-driven animation, Grist explainers break down the most important climate information in a fun, engaging way. Click here to see a case study of how I use science, data, and programming to create dynamic visuals.

Grist Explainers

Case Study: Wet Bulb Temperature Graphic

In the summer of 2022, I was reporting and producing a story about wet bulb temperatures — a unit of measurement that combines heat and humidity. Wet bulb temperatures are important because they represents the temperature that humans experiences after sweat cools them off. If wet bulb temperatures rise above 95º F — as some parts of the world are starting to experience — the human body has no way to prevent itself from overheating.My goal was to create a data-driven visual to help break down the concept for viewers.I always start my designs with research. In this case, I found a scientific study that created a formula to derive wet bulb temperatures from standard units of heat and relative humidity. Now that I had an equation, I could write an expression to in Adobe After Effects.

Now that I had the mathematical backbone for the visual, I could start to design the graphic. I started with a rectangle. On one axis, I created a slider icon for humidity. On the other, I created a slider icon for temperature. In the center of the rectangle, I displayed the wet bulb temperature, and color coded the background from yellow to red.

This graphic was a great example of my philosophy of designing engaging visuals rooted in science. You can see the full video here: