About
Rebecca
she/her
My name is Rebecca Batalden, and I’m an editor, writer, ecologist and educator based in St. Paul, Minnesota. I believe firmly in the value and responsibility of citizenship and the power of a single person to make an impact and positive change in a community. Throughout my professional and personal life, I work to solve problems, build community and effect positive change.
As an editor, I bring these values to every project. I am a curious, active and lifelong learner, and while I have subject-specific expertise in areas of ecology, general sciences, environmental issues and K-12 education, I love editing academic and nonfiction manuscripts from all genres. I believe editing is a collaborative process, and my goals are to ensure that your words connect with audiences so your knowledge and ideas can educate, inform and make an impact.
The Journey
I received my Ph.D. from the Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Department at the University of Minnesota where I studied the impacts of climate change on monarch butterfly migrations. My thesis topic was informed by my commitment to environmental stewardship and intellectual curiosity. I was deeply concerned about climate change and studying a charismatic organism gave me a platform to share my research findings with the general public and engage others in climate change action. At the same time, I was fascinated by the science of animal migrations and yearned to solve complex ecological puzzles.
It was here, in graduate school, where I began to understand the potential for public science communication to effect change. I honed my communication skills through:
creating and delivering professional development courses for K-12 teachers
designing and teaching K-5 science curriculum in St. Paul Public Schools and
writing and editing materials for US Forest Service, environmental and citizen science newsletters, and local newspapers.
Along the way, of course I also wrote for academic journals and books and funded my research through grants, including several highly competitive national awards.