About Blaire

I am freelance writer and editor with a degree in Cognitive Science from the University of California Santa Cruz and a professional background in media literacy, misinformation research, behavioral science, and teaching. Currently, I work as a reporter for Lookout Local in Santa Cruz, CA, pursuing a career as a journalist.

As a reporter for Lookout Local, I cover food, the environment, and the local community. While drafting articles, I develop explanatory visuals and manage content in our CMS. Read this piece on international student workers and this piece on changes to CALFIRE helicopter technology.

Previously, I reported on misinformation techniques with The Propwatch Project, a nonprofit seeking to educate the public on misinformation. I wrote in-depth articles and performed interviews with misinformation researchers, including writing on common techniques employed by state-sponsored social media trolls and discussing the relationship between state-sponsored propaganda and state violence through an interview with misinformation expert, Dr. Josephine Lukito.

I started my reporting career working as a writer for HAALo Botanicals, a shop dedicated to educating and promoting all things botanical. While shadowing practitioners from a number of disciplines, I gathered content for our newsletter, which I titled the vHerbiage. I wrote weekly articles covering food, plants, nutrition, and the local community.

Later, I graduated with a BS in Cognitive Science from the University of California Santa Cruz. In college, I taught a Psych 100 class, instructing my students on the foundations of psychology and writing a research paper. Likewise, I worked as a research assistant in the Spontaneous Communications Lab of the UCSC Psychology Department, where I drafted literature reviews for multiple studies, for instance one researching the spread of fake news and another on the effect of power imbalances on conversations.

During college, I was involved with several student ventures: I worked as an editor with Chinquapin Magazine, a student-run literary magazine, and ran monthly movie nights with the Psi-Chi club, an international psychology association.

My appreciation for films and storytelling developed from my experience as assistant festival director for the Nevada City Film Festival, where I assisted with all stages of event management and coordinated 100+ volunteers.

Activities

Hiking, camping, and backpacking, beach volleyball, biking

Cooking, reading, board games, podcasts