Rhysea is a PhD student at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, where she focuses on communication and storytelling around climate change and the environment. 

Before joining the PhD program, Rhysea worked at the USC Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication, where she analyzed trends in the climate communication landscape for the Center’s annual Temperature Check reports and was an associate producer for a special podcast season of Electric Futures: My Story is a Climate Story. She was an intern for SCEC in 2019 as part of the UseIT program and then again in 2022-2023 as a newsroom intern.

Rhysea has also worked as a journalist, covering the environment, health, politics, religion, and social issues. She was the inaugural managing editor of The Xylom, an award-winning science newsroom, and currently sits on its editorial board. Her work has been published in outlets including Los Angeles Times, CalMatters and Sojourners, and she has appeared on radio stations such as CapRadio, LAist, KCBS and KQED to talk about her reporting.

SCEC Participation

SCEC Temporary / Student Worker (2022 - 2023)
SCEC Intern (2019)