Chip Giller

Chip Giller is an American journalist, environmentalist, and nonprofit founder. He is best known as the founder of Grist,^[1] an online environmental news organization. Giller has won numerous awards for his media innovations and environmental work, including receiving a Heinz Award^[2] and being named a "Hero of the Environment" by Time magazine.^[3] He has been featured in media outlets like Vanity Fair, Newsweek, and Outside, and has participated as a guest on broadcast programs including NBC's Today and PBS's Now.

Chip Giller
Born	Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Education	Environmental studies
Alma mater	Brown University
Occupation	Journalist
Known for	Founder of Grist
Awards	Heinz Award (2009), Time Hero of the Environment (2007)

Early work

Giller was a reporter with High Country News and an editor at Greenwire before founding Grist. He was a three-time journalism fellow with the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources and a senior fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program.^[4]

Grist

Giller founded the online environmental news site Grist in 1999. Grist was among the first publications to draw connections between the environment and such areas as food, economics, and health.^{[citation needed]} In 2023, it became the first climate media organization to win a National Magazine Award in General Excellence (in the Literature, Science and Politics category).^[5] Grist's work has included political coverage, including exclusive interviews with all of the candidates in the 2008 presidential election; a seven-week series on poverty and the environment; and influential climate and energy reporting. Grist earned Webby Awards in 2005^[6] and 2006,^[7] an honor described by The New York Times as "the Oscars of the internet".^[8] Utne gave Grist its Independent Press Award for Online Political Coverage in 2003^[9] and 2005,^[10] citing its "rich mix of hard-hitting eco-political coverage, practical tips, hopeful tales, and rib-tickling whimsy." The National Wildlife Federation honored Grist with the National Conservation Achievement Award in 2006.^[11] In 2007, Grist published Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Nonpompous, Nonpreachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day, which won a silver medal at the Independent Publisher Book Awards.^[12]

Agog: The Immersive Media Institute

In 2024, Giller co‑founded Agog: The Immersive Media Institute with philanthropist Wendy Schmidt to advance the use of immersive technologies such as extended reality and spatial computing for addressing social and environmental challenges.^[13] He currently serves as the organization’s executive director.^[14]

Awards and honors

Giller received the 15th annual Heinz Award with Special Focus on the Environment in 2009 for making environmental issues relevant to new and broad audiences.^[2] He was named a "Hero of the Environment" by Time in 2007^[3] and received the Jane Bagley Lehman Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy from the Tides Foundation in 2004, recognizing the role Grist has played in increasing environmental awareness.^[15] In 2001, Giller was named a "New Media Hero" by AlterNet.^[16]

Personal life

Giller, a native of Massachusetts, obtained his honors degree in environmental studies from Brown University.^[2] He lives with his wife and two children in the Seattle area.^[4]