Stephenie Livingston
Journalist and Writer
About Me.
I’m a journalist and writer native to rural Florida. I’ve written about science and the environment for online publications, newspapers, and magazines since 2009. I enjoy telling stories that broaden our ideas about people, animals, places, and issues that are underrepresented or have stereotypes attached to them. My work usually focuses on unheard voices and unusual stories that defy our expectations. Storytelling has taken me to places like the deserts of Egypt, the southern tip of the United States, and a prehistoric elephant graveyard.
I grew up running barefoot along the banks of the tea-colored Suwannee River. My first reporting jobs were for small-town newspapers in rural Florida, leading to a 2011 Florida Press Association Award for reporting on river pollution. I earned a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in mass communication from the University of Florida. I studied environmental reporting and nature writing, with a chunk of my graduate research focused on uncovering the use of stereotypes in media.
As a science writer for the University of Florida and the Florida Museum of Natural History, I broadened the institutions’ inclusion of stories about women and other minorities in science. My series "Becoming Visible: Three women shattering stereotypes in science" won a 2018 Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Circle of Excellence Gold Award.
I love traveling and adventuring with my dog. My heart is in the swamps and the marsh, but I enjoy disappearing into the mountains occasionally.