National Press Club Communicators Lunch and Learn: Meet the Energy Media

Thursday, August 19 from Noon to 1 PM (ET) 

Virtual Event

From a Texas deep freeze to President Biden’s ambitious clean energy agenda, now more than ever journalists are having to decipher complex energy issues for their audiences.

On Thursday, August 19, from noon to 1 p.m., the National Press Club’s Communicators Team will host a Lunch & Learn program featuring six journalists for a conversation about the unique challenges today’s energy beat presents, and how PR professionals can best assist them throughout the newsgathering process.

The discussion will be moderated by NPC member Kate Tillotson, the communications manager at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which represents more than 900 electric co-ops across America.

About the Panelists

Zack Colman is a climate and energy reporter at Politico in Washington, D.C. He previously covered climate and energy issues at E&E News, The Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Examiner and The Hill. A former Knight Science Journalism fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bill Lane Center for the American West fellow at Stanford University, he holds a master's degree from the University of Illinois, Springfield, and a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.

Rachel Frazin is an energy and environment reporter at The Hill in Washington, D.C. She has also written for the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Beast and the Tampa Bay Times. Rachel graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She's originally from Florida.

Timothy Gardner is an energy correspondent at Thomson Reuters in Washington, D.C. Among things he covers are climate, nuclear power and proliferation, coal and sanctions. He previously worked for the company in New York, reporting on oil markets, the uptick of climate shareholder resolutions at major energy companies, and the formation of the U.S. Northeast’s carbon market. He graduated from Franklin & Marshall and New York University.

Josh Lederman is a correspondent for NBC News based in Washington, D.C., covering climate change, U.S. politics, and national security. Prior to joining NBC News, Josh was a White House reporter for The Associated Press from 2013 to 2017. A native of Tucson, Ariz., he holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and a bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University.

Ivan Penn is an alternative energy reporter at The New York Times in Los Angeles. Previously, he covered utility and energy issues at The Tampa Bay Times and The Los Angeles Times. He also worked at The Miami Herald and The Baltimore Sun, where hewas an investigative reporter and covered government, politics and criminal justice. A native of Washington, he graduated from the University of Maryland.

Pippa Stevens is a markets reporter at CNBC, focused on all things energy. In addition to tracking the daily moves in the oil market, she covers renewables as well as the growing ESG investing movement. She previously worked as a production assistant at Fox Business. A Manhattan native, Pippa holds a bachelor’s degree in Classics from Princeton University.