• by Ray Schultz , September 21, 2022

Grist, a nonprofit publication devoted to climate and social justice reporting, has named Nikhil Swaminathan as its permanent chief executive officer.

Swaminathan had held the post on an interim basis since February of this year. He succeeded Brady Pinero Walkinshaw. 

A veteran of Scientific American, Al Jazeera America, GOOD, and Archaeology, Swaminathan joined Grist as a senior editor in in 2017, and was named executive editor in 2018, then the highest editorial position. In 2021, he took on the title of editor-in-chief.   

Grist expanded its reach to nearly 2 million readers a month across its platforms under his leadership. Managing the newsroom with almost 30 journalists, Swaminathan established Grist’s environmental justice and investigations desks. 

"As editor in chief, Nikhil elevated Grist's journalism, making the magazine into one of the premier publications on the climate change beat,” states Grist board member, writer, and author Julian Brave NoiseCat. “He cultivated an outstanding and diverse newsroom that told insightful and impactful stories about our warming world and the way humans are responding to it.”