Julia Travers


I'm a journalist who covers diverse social and scientific topics, including the arts, technology, climate change and the nonprofit sector. 

ARTnews.com •

How I Made This: Bisa Butler’s Quilt Portraits Honor the Black Experience

Bisa Butler creates vibrant, life-size quilt portraits of Black Americans. The unique process by which she translates photographs into luminous, pieced-cloth images is a synthesis of her formal artistic studies and family traditions. Trained as a painter, Butler later earned a master’s degree in art education. She taught high school art classes for years, making clothes and quilts in her free time. Her many influences include her mother and grandmother, who were sewers; members of the AfriCOBRA...
The Outlaw Report •

How Should Virginia Spend Its Cannabis Profits? — The Outlaw Report

Virginia’s plan for adult recreational cannabis use was approved in February, with a major bill review scheduled for 2022 and legalization set for 2024. When it comes to the use of cannabis taxes, the pro-legalization community is split. Governor Ralph Northam, the mayor of Richmond Levar Stoney, and some other Democrats support using the largest portion of taxes for targeted PreK programs...
Inside Philanthropy •

The Power of the Hive: New Climate Fund Centers Southern Women of Color (PDF in new tab)

The new Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice seeks to catalyze a deeply rooted climate response in the South by centering the leadership of black, Indigenous and other women of color. Southern women of color have a long track record of advancing social justice. They also play a pivotal role in grassroots environmental movements in the U.S. (and Global) South, leading groups that are often overlooked by grantmakers in favor of larger, more institutional, white- and male-led nonprofits.
Progressive.org •

Let the Sunshine In, for the Benefit of All

Low- and moderate-income households bear heavy housing and energy cost burdens. In the United States, people with low incomes spend about three times more of their income on energy than those with higher incomes. Moreover, these households are much less likely to reap the benefits of converting to solar power. But now, a study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has identified three approaches that effectively expand the availability of rooftop solar to people in lower income ...
Philanthropy Women •

Why Men Got Picked Over Women in a Blind Review of Science Grants - Philanthropy Women

A recent study of a science grant application process at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found male applicants received higher scores than women, even in a blind review. At the foundation’s request, a team from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed this imbalance and reported that factors like scientic discipline and position, publication record, and grant history were not factors — the main dierence was in the language used in proposal titles and descriptions.
LabRoots •

Organic Produce Lessens Breast Cancer Risk | Cancer

Organic foods and their health benefits are a source of constant study. These foods, which are free of synthetic pesticides, are becoming more popular as the evidence mounts of the health risks of various pesticides. For nearly 20 years, the sales of organic foods have grown by about 14 percent per year. Now, a recent study published in reports that eating organic produce is associated with reduced breast cancer risk.
Inside Philanthropy •

Will Funding Marine Planning Help Save Our Troubled Seas?

We know that protecting the oceans is hard; it often requires cooperation between government, industry, conservationists, local communities and philanthropy. One way to look after an area of ocean is for stakeholders to divide it into different zones for different activities. Some zones can return to a natural state (these are called marine protected areas, or MPAs), while others are used for fishing or tourism.
Food Tank •

Tracing the Rain: Can Measuring Evaporation Help Farmers?

Accurately capturing a raindrop’s journey to the ground is tricky business. Evaporation can cause a raindrop to shrink between the time it is captured by radar in a cloud and when it hits a farmer’s field, and this can make it hard to rely on radar-based rainfall estimations in some areas. Researchers from the University of Missouri in Columbia are taking a closer look at evaporation. With the use of specialized weather algorithms ...
Accessibility.com •

Government Study: Schools Get Creative but Struggle to Fulfill IEPs During Shutdowns

The COVID-19 pandemic and school shutdowns have created new challenges for nearly all educators and students, and their families. This is especially true in the realm of special education. Each public school student who receives special education services is required to have an individualized education program (IEP) that outlines their instruction, goals, services, and more. According to a new government study (PDF), fulfilling children’s IEP’s during remote learning has proved difficult...
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