Before joining Louisiana Illuminator, Plunk earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida, where she worked as editor-in-chief of Atrium magazine, a narrative nonfiction outlet on campus. She also worked as an environmental communications intern for the Thompson Earth Systems Institute, where she wrote feature stories and produced social media content on environmental topics relevant to Floridians, and as a climate journalist fellow at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Plunk’s favorite class in college was environmental journalism, where she learned to connect her passion for the natural world with her studies in reporting. When she isn’t working, she loves making art from upcycled materials.
Beat: Water and its impact in Louisiana
From the drinking supply to the encroaching seas and ever-changing rivers and bayous, water factors daily into Louisiana life. The journalist in this position will strive to investigate and report stories on how citizens cope with the various aspects and impacts water in Louisiana and the changes it brings, whether the result of nature, policy or indifference.