I have worked as a writer and an investigative reporter for 20 years, focusing primarily on environmental issues and public education. My writing has been published in The Atlantic, Mother Jones, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The Nation, among others. From 2017 to 2020, I served as the lead contributor and co-creator of The Atlantic's "On Teaching" project, the nation's first collection of oral histories centered on the wisdom and knowledge of our country's most experienced and accomplished educators.
In 2015, Bold Type Books published Mission High, for which I spent four years following five students and their teachers to illustrate the most essential ingredients of great teaching. Between 2010 to 2016, I was a reporter at Mother Jones, where in 2017, I won a National Association of Black Journalists Award for my feature highlighting overlooked mass departures of Black teachers from our schools; and my investigative piece on education secretary, Betsy DeVos, was a finalist for the Education Writers Association awards and cited during senate confirmation hearings of DeVos.
Before I moved to the U.S. in 1994, I grew up in Latvia where, in 2010, I co-founded with Inga Springe, the first non-profit center for investigative journalism in the Baltic states, ReBaltica. I've served on the board of ReBaltica since its founding.
More recently, I moved to rural Sonoma County and became a certified naturalist. I am a proud volunteer at our local prescribed burn association and another collaborative working on forest restoration, climate adaptation and wildlife protection in our area.
If you'd like to reach me, email me to kristina at rizga dot com.