J. Carl Ganter, Co-founder and Director
Carl drives daily operations, field work and special projects at Circle of Blue. He is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and photojournalist whose work has appeared in most major magazines, newspapers, and television and radio networks, including Time, National Geographic, and Rolling Stone. He earned his MSJ in investigative and magazine reporting at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism after graduating with honors from the University’s American Studies Program. Carl is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Energy Nexus and past vice chairman of the forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water Security, and served as a member of the forum’s Global Future Council on the Environment and its New Vision for Agriculture and Water initiatives. He has presented or moderated sessions at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Aspen Ideas Festival, Techonomy, DLD, Global Entrepreneurship Summit, Aspen Environment Forum, World Water Week, Fung Global Institute, Concordia Summit, Impact Summit, International Water Summit, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and others. He is a recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Centennial Innovation Award and fellow of the Explorers Club. He can be found somewhere near the waters of northwest Michigan or photographing from a small plane.
Eileen Ganter, Co-founder and Creative Advisor
Eileen nurtures the creative ethos of Circle of Blue by cultivating the lyrical ingredients of journalism to supporting the human factor in all aspects of our work. Eileen has an MA in radio and television production from the University of Detroit. She is a writer, director, and narrator who produced and hosted regional and national programming for 13 years at Interlochen Public Radio, a National Public Radio affiliate in Northern Michigan. Eileen has won Telly Awards for her script writing and documentary work, and her association with Circle of Blue follows many years of independent multimedia journalistic projects and a life-long love of the Great Lakes. She holds an undergraduate and a masters degree (summa cum laude) in film and video from the University of Detroit. Dedicated to seeing our world from new perspectives, she gave us our name. “In the long view,” Eileen says in our flagship video, “we are defined against the edge of space as a simple circle of blue.” Eileen is a student of historical archives where she connects past lives to the present.
Keith Schneider, Senior Editor and Chief Correspondent
Keith manages story development for Circle of Blue. As senior editor and chief correspondent for our Global Choke Point project, Keith has reported on the intensifying confrontation between water, food, and energy from six continents. Keith holds a BA from Haverford College, and he is a nationally known journalist, online communications specialist, and environmental policy expert. He has won numerous awards for his work as a journalist, program innovator, and editor, including two George Polk Memorial Awards for environmental and national reporting (1984 and 1988), which are among the most prestigious in American journalism. For more than a decade, Keith was a national correspondent for The New York Times, where he has delivered more than 1,000 bylines. He continues to report for the Times as a special writer on energy, urban affairs, real estate, business, technology, environment, agriculture, and cultural trends. Before joining Circle of Blue, he was media and communications director at the US Climate Action Network and communications director at the Apollo Alliance. Keith developed one of the first independent online news desks as the founder and executive director of the Michigan Land Use Institute, now Groundwork. A sought-after public speaker on global trends in energy, water, and food, and on the role of original reporting and online communications in the public interest, Keith writes from his home in Northern Michigan, where he has lived since 1993. Read his personal site at Modeshift.org or find him on his bike touring the freshwater coastlines of Michigan.
Brett Walton: Senior Reporter
Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States for Circle of Blue. Brett also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He has an MA in Central Asian studies from the University of Washington and a BA in English from the University of Richmond. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States (2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). Brett has received fellowships from SEJ (2013) and the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources (2011). He is a frequent public speaker on U.S. water issues. Prior to Circle of Blue, Brett worked on a NASA-affiliated water data research project. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies.
Laura Herd, Operations Director
Laura is the project, people, content, and general manager for Circle of Blue, overseeing our publication desk, content, series development, internships, partnerships, and the website. Laura joined Circle of Blue in 2015. Her first project with Circle of Blue was to develop and implement the complete redesign of Circle of Blue’s website. By nature, Laura is a producer; she co-created and ran the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival prior to joining Circle of Blue. Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Social Relations from Earlham College. Laura lives in Traverse City, Michigan. You can find her restoring old homes or adventuring throughout Northern Michigan’s great outdoors.
Isabella Filigenzi, Outreach and Communications Lead
Isabella Filigenzi is a communications and outreach professional with a background in public health and community engagement. A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, she brings years of experience in project coordination, media development, and client relations. Isabella currently serves as the Outreach and Communications Lead at Circle of Blue, where she manages the organization’s social media channels, coordinates website updates, and played an instrumental role in the organization’s complete website overhaul. Her attention to detail, technical proficiency, and collaborative spirit make her a key asset to the team.
Christian Thorsberg, Reporter
Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer from Chicago. He is passionate about climate and cultural phenomena that often appear slow or invisible, and he examines these themes in his journalism, poetry, and fiction.
Jonathan Zhao, Reporting Intern
Jonathan is a senior undergraduate at Northwestern University studying journalism and biology. On campus, Jonathan is an editor for In Our Nature, an online environmental magazine. After graduation, he is hoping to attend medical school. In his free time, Jonathan enjoys gaming, taking walks and playing the piano.
Anahita Banerjee, Reporting Intern
Anahita reports on California for Circle of Blue. She holds a degree in Civil Engineering and Global Poverty & Practice from UC Berkeley, and will be completing her MS at Oxford in Water Science, Policy, & Management. Anahita has extensive field experience with water and sanitation projects around the world, including rural India, Peru, and California. When not writing, she can be found teaching ballet, dancing, or lost in an Agatha Christie novel.
Camille Czarny, Strategy and Development
Camille is the strategy and development coordinator at Circle of Blue, overseeing “Designing Water’s Future” content, development, and partnerships. Camille joined Circle of Blue in 2024. Camille holds a MA in Climate & Society from Columbia University and a BA in Comparative Cultures & Politics from Michigan State University. Her research has focused on regenerative farming implementation, mental health impacts of climate stress on farmers and ranchers, and environmental justice in rural landscapes. Camille recently relocated back to Michigan after spending the last few years in New York City, and she is excited to hike, swim, and bike in Northern Michigan again.