About Me
Education | Experience
University of Washington Graduate School of Social Work, 2023-Present
Master of Social Work, Class of 2025, Ballmer Behavioral Health Fellow
MSW Generalist Intern, Seattle Indian Health Board, 2023-Present
MSW Generalist Intern
Shoreline Community College Benefits Hub - United Way of King County, 2021-2023
Work one-on-one with community college students and connect them with services including financial aid, public benefits, housing and homelessness support, emergency grants, food access, and mental health and healthcare resources.
Led outreach efforts and presentations.
Contributed to a proposal that resulted in our office being chosen as Major League Baseball’s All-Star Legacy site, which brought in funding and an office renovation.
After our Program Coordinator left in March 2023, I managed the office as the only staff member and assisted with grant distribution.
Communications Coordinator, Greenroads Foundation, 2019-2021
Coordinated and executed the organization’s 10th-anniversary conference, Earth Day keynote event, and educational presentations.
Researched and wrote technical publications for the Greenroads Rating System, which serves as the most widely used Rating System for designing sustainable transportation infrastructure. This involved translating scientific papers into accessible language.
Managed recurring newsletters, press releases, social media, blog posts, and policy documents. Placed stories in news outlets, coordinated podcast interviews, and wrote a TEDx Talk for the executive. Created graphics for online content.
After managing social media platforms for one year, LinkedIn engagement increased by 6544 percent and web traffic from all social media platforms increased by 297 percent.
Freelance Journalist, 2017-Present
I have covered international and domestic stories on climate science, adaptation, and community-led solutions in Indigenous, Pacific Islander, Puerto Rican, and Indian communities for National Geographic, Atmos Magazine, YES! Magazine, The Narwhal, Astronomy Magazine, including:
National Geographic features on climate adaptation amongst small farmers in India and in the Pacific.
A 41-page Atmos Magazine cover story on grassroots climate adaptation in Indigenous, Indian, and Pacific Islander communities, plus features on the impacts of the cut flower industry and overtourism in Indonesia.
Stories on Indigenous resistance to pipeline expansions and coal mines and community-led responses to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis, including grassroots drone search teams and the Indigenous women-led self-defense movement.
I appeared as a sustainability expert on a Discovery Channel series and have presented my work at the Oxford Forum for International Development, the National Geographic Headquarters, Washington University in St. Louis, the Fulbright Annual Conference, the Pulitzer Center, and Northwestern University.
Freelance Communications Consultant, Seattle, WA, 2018-Present
Wrote web copy, digital content, newsletters, and science communications articles for clients including the World Bank, the Pew Charitable Trusts’ International Boreal Conservation Campaign and Indigenous Leadership Initiative; ChoiceVoiceVote, a Seattle-based climate nonprofit; Greenroads Foundation, and the Green Dreamer Journal. I produced explanatory, multimedia communications on climate science, solutions, and Indigenous-led, community-based climate action.
Northwestern University Medill Graduate School of Journalism, 2016-2017
Health and Science Specialization
Selected as one of three Comer Scholars for Environmental Reporting.
Fulbright National Geographic Storytelling Fellow, 2015-2016
Selected as one of five Fulbright National Geographic Fellows. Designed and led a year-long collaborative reporting project covering climate adaptation, displacement, grassroots climate innovation, and cultural resilience in the Pacific island nations of Kiribati and Fiji. Produced photographs, written content, and videos.
Washington University in St. Louis, 2011-2015
BA International Sustainable Development Studies, Anthropology, cum laude
Outstanding Honors Thesis in International and Area Studies
Student Fellow & Visiting Lecturer: Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
I was a Student Fellow with the Pulitzer Center in 2014 and reported on adaptation to climate change in the Central Pacific island nation of Kiribati. In 2017 I traveled to Doha, Qatar, to present on climate change and Kiribati at Northwestern University in Qatar with the Pulitzer Center.
Resident Intern: The Wellstone Center in the Redwoods, 2017
I was a resident intern at the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods, a writing retreat in the Santa Cruz mountains. I helped facilitate weekly open mic nights, helped around the property, and began producing a larger writing project from my time on the Kiribati islands.
Washington University in St. Louis Office of Undergraduate Research Grant Recipient, 2014
Solutions Journalism Network Freelance Fund Grant Recipient, #MeToo Fellow, 2017-2019
Northwest Science Writers Association Career Development Award, 2018
In the News:
Kultura Magazine Profile: Janice Cantieri: Fulbright National Geographic Fellow Discusses the Importance of Responsible Storytelling
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting: Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow Janice Cantieri
Solutions Journalism Network: 11 A++ Solutions Stories from our Travel Fund Grantees
Solutions Journalism Network: Five Pitches that Became Solutions Stories
Cooler Earth Podcast: Sand, Salt + Sea Level Rise
UYD Podcast with Tayo Rockson: Reclaiming Culture in Kiribati and Fiji with Janice Cantieri
Washington University 2015: Where others see crisis, student journalist Cantieri sees hope
