Amy J. Boyer
I founded Climate Relations LLC because I want conversations about climate change that illuminate the relationships among science, social justice, and appropriate action.
Where I come from
The Chesapeake Bay is one of the world’s great estuaries, and it’s where I learned the layers of relationships that make a place. Geological and hydrological processes shape the sandy peninsula where I grew up. Trees, plants, animals, birds, and fish bring it to life. Caring for it and benefiting from its bounty are the people who live there [1].
As the climate crisis deepens, that sandy peninsula will be increasingly underwater [2]. Rather than feeling helpless, I decided to use my writing, editing, and management skills to lift up and drive forward climate solutions.
I’m fascinated by nature-based solutions and biodiversity, and I love taking a deep dive into a place or an issue. I enjoy working with coalitions, often behind the scenes, to articulate the case for protecting the land or water they love.
I’m also interested in the transition to renewable energy and technologies and practices that can help us preserve biodiversity and understand where and how to protect and restore our beautiful planet.
When I’m not in front of the computer, I enjoy gardening (especially drought-tolerant and pollinator-friendly plants), kayaking, hanging out with family and friends, and learning new things.
I’ve learned that if you do your best to make positive change possible, it’s amazing what can happen when you persist.
Memberships
- National Association of Science Writers (professional)
- Editorial Freelancers Association (professional)
- Geological Society of America (affiliate)
- California Native Plant Society (perennial)
Some stops along the way
- A math degree with significant coursework in economics.
- A masters in English, followed by a writing residency with the Putah-Cache Bioregion Project.
- A long and rewarding stint at University of California Press, doing tech support for the Editing Department, learning how an editor thinks from Marilyn Schwartz (co-author of the Copy Editor’s Handbook), and getting formal editing training from Amy Einsohn, the Handbook’s first author.
- Interfaith chaplaincy training that was a rigorous, experiential education in meeting people exactly where they are.
- Years of managing a gardening program in three prisons (Insight Garden Program, now Land Together), where I developed facilitation skills, the ability to work with people of widely different views and needs, and proficiency in environmental education and fostering people’s connections to nature and each other.
- Training in leadership and equity, diversity, and inclusion through Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s program, Culture of Health Leaders.
Contact info@climaterelations.net to set up a free consultation.
[1] The ancestral home of the Accomack and Occahannock peoples, the Eastern Shore of Virginia was first colonized by English settlers in 1619, and enslaved Africans labored there by 1635.
[2] See for example this report: https://resilientvirginia.org/buildings/future-sea-level-and-recurrent-flooding-risk-for-coastal-virginia/