Director
Great Salt Lake Collaborative
Heather May directs the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a group of 19 news, education and civic organizations that have come together to better inform and engage Utahns about the crisis facing the Great Salt Lake — and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late.
Scientists have been sounding the alarm about the problems facing the lake — its imminent ecological collapse brought on by
overconsumption of water upstream, drought and climate change — for years. The collapse would be devastating to the 2.4 million Utahns who live within the heavily populated region surrounding the lake because its water protects Utahns from dust and toxins found on the lakebed. But the message had largely been ignored by the public and policymakers — water that made it to the lake was considered a waste — until the Great Salt Lake Collaborative formed in 2022.
Utah journalists working together and reporting on potential solutions changed the narrative from Who cares? to What can I do to help? Their coordinated, relentless coverage has helped unite Utahns behind saving the lake.
Heather also oversees collaborations at The Salt Lake Tribune, the first legacy newspaper in the U.S. to transform from a for-profit company to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. She is helping the Tribune fulfill its mission to tell interesting, important and inclusive stories by expanding relationships statewide and collaborating with high school students.
Mission-Driven Journalism That Works: Turning Climate Coverage into Opportunity
Friday, September 12, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT