Maura Stephens

Retired Associate Director, Park Center for Independent Media, Journalism

A generalist and systems thinker, Maura sees the connections among all disciplines, indeed all aspects of life. Besides independent journalism, long-form nonfiction writing, and (now nature-based) K-adult education, Maura's vocations include theater arts -- acting, directing, dramaturgy, and playwriting; herbalism; organic farming and food preservation and presenting. Her subjects of greatest expertise and interest (at present) are environmental justice, climate change, and Earth tipping points; human rights; animal rights; fossil fuels and related industrial activities and infrastructures; renewable energy; patient advocacy; governance systems; conflict resolution; community organizing; intercultural communications; Iraq; Ireland; and soil and water rights and protection.

She tries to bring these passions to her ongoing journalism and to her efforts to help students become ethical, socially responsible journalists in the rapidly changing and more-than-a-little scary world that is their inheritance.

Read about Maura's work before coming to PCIM here.

Read some of Maura's recent writing here.

Personal Website

From April 2010 until summer 2016 Maura Stephens served as associate director of the Park Center for Independent Media after a career that included mainstream and independent journalism and other fields.

Maura believes strongly that indy journalism is critical for any democratic society and that it can and should be a noble profession. She will always cherish the time she spent working with PCIM director Jeff Cohen, whose observations on and assessments of the media she has long admired and whose progressive outlook she shares, and with Brandy Hawley, the world's most accomplished administrative assistant and generous supporter of students, faculty, and staff. She enjoyed helping to nurture a new generation of ethical, inquisitive, well-equipped professionals committed to journalism for the common good. Although she has now left IC, she continues to write for and promote indy media and collaborates with other committed independent investigative journalists.

Her PCIM portfolio included mentoring student journalists toward careers in independent media; tracking highlights and trends in national and local independent media; writing and curating content for PCIM online sites; writing articles and essays for independent media outlets on media and related topics (everything is related to media in some ways!); and helping Jeff Cohen with internships and public events.