**Work**

Writer, photojournalist, and videographer focusing on the intersection of people, climate, and sport.
**Priority areas for mentorship**
Connecting with brands or those that need storytelling
General marketing
Business planning
Help with publishing (regarding books, magazine articles, etc)

Hi there! My name is Grace Williams, I am currently a freelance photographer, writer, and professional cyclist. I was born and raised in Bloomington, IN, where I graduated from Indiana University with degrees in Biology & an individualized major, Neurophilosophy & Religion. I ran D1 track and cross-country in college for three years, but spent my final year ultra-running and cycling, eventually leading me to my current profession as a rider for Cynisca Cycling.

I attended Footprints as a camper in 2021, just before my senior year of college. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but after an incredible week of mentorship and deep dives into passion and purpose at camp, I left with the realization that my lifelong love of photography could actually be pursued as a career path towards positive change. I moved out to Flagstaff, Arizona where I began my freelance photography business and interned with conservationist and filmmaker James ‘Q’ Martin, whom I met at Footprints. Since then, I have continued cultivating my career as a storyteller alongside my athletics; completing projects, films, and photoshoots as I go along.

After settling on environmental photojournalism at camp, I returned to school in the fall and began pursuing an undergraduate thesis project. I decided it would be ideal to combine my camp project with my thesis to keep me held accountable, so I spent the rest of the year working on a way to do this. After hours of interviews, photoshoots, and Adobe troubleshooting, I ended up with a photojournalistic-style e-zine, naming it "Philosophy of Sport". Through the context of sport, I was able to touch on abstract aspects of the human experience (purpose, community, pain, joy) and tie it together with themes such as environmental action & connection to nature.

After the completion of my initial project, I jumped into freelance media work and have been working in this realm ever since. Although this is awesome, I'd like to refocus on some new projects that are more directly based in sustainable action. I'd love to find brands or organizations, pitch stories to them (important stories about people, the environment, impactful organizations like Footprints), and share them with the world via media and my writing abilities. I've also considered expanding my initial Philosophy of Sport project into a book format, using stories of sport & athletes to emphasize climate action as the main theme. All of this to say: I need to sit down and figure out my next steps!

Grace's portfolio