Melissa Troutman joined WildEarth Guardians in December 2022 after 12 years as an investigative journalist, frontline resident, and environmental justice advocate.

In 2011, Melissa co-founded the investigative nonprofit Public Herald where she spent a decade exposing oil and gas corruption and the government policies perpetuating systemic harm to environmental and public health. In 2019, she received a Community Sentinel Award honoring her dedication to communities and ecosystems on the frontlines of oil and gas extraction.

Born and raised in the forest (before the digital age), Melissa developed relationships with the more-than-human world at a very young age and treats all of life as kin. At Guardians, her passion for fact-finding and common good will guide her advocacy for climate and energy justice.