Frances Cerra Whittelsey

My blogs

Gender	Female
Industry	Communications or Media
Location	Huntington, NY, United States
Introduction	First as the consumer reporter for Newsday and The New York Times and now as a free-lancer, I write about people who have been ripped off or hurt by the system. One story won a George Polk Award for Public Service. I see myself as standing in for people who’ve been abused, using carefully researched and written articles to expose the truth and equalize their fight. I quit The Times when it censored my story predicting that the Long Island Lighting Company would go bankrupt trying to build its Shoreham nuclear plant. Soon after, LILCO avoided bankruptcy thanks only to a bail-out by New York's taxpayers. I co-founded an ad-free women’s consumer website; edited a women’s cancer magazine, and now write for magazines. I have also taught journalism at Hofstra University. For the past 3 years, I've worn a different hat as a community organizer starting community gardens in Huntington, NY, as a co-founder of the Long Island Community Agriculture Network. Getting my hands in the earth is an antidote to the craziness of politics and public policy.
Interests	The environment, particularly community gardening and alternative fuels, feminism and women's health, consumer problems, the media, travel.