The Sweaty Penguin began in early quarantine with a small group of Boston University students who met through student publications such as The Bunion and The Emerald Review. In the years since then, The Sweaty Penguin has transitioned from a quarantine hobby to a full-fledged newsroom. Even though our team members have changed since the beginning, The Sweaty Penguin continues to be a place where college students and recent graduates can learn about climate change, develop writing and communication skills, and find professional leadership opportunities extremely early in their careers. Our team brings a diverse group of backgrounds and academic interests, and a shared goal of making climate change less overwhelming, less politicized, and more fun.
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Ethan Brown
Founder & Host -
Hallie Cordingley
Producer -
Owen Reith
Producer -
Shannon Damiano
Co-Producer -
Madeleine Salman
Associate Producer -
Megan Antone
Associate Producer -
Sabrina Rollings
Social Media Manager -
Velina Georgi
Comedy Writer -
Mo Polyak
Comedy Writer -
Emma Jones
Researcher -
Alia Bonanno
Research Fellow -
Dare Fitzpatrick
Research Fellow -
Iliana Garner
Journalism Fellow -
Mikaela Gonzalez
Research Fellow -
Sofia Mansilla
Design Fellow -
Rona Medovoi-Klotz
Journalism Fellow -
Gabby Mussulman-Watson
Design Fellow -
Aana Shenai
Research Fellow -
Ainsley Jane Tambling
Research Fellow

Ethan Brown
Founder & Host
Ethan Brown is a recent graduate of Boston University from Bethel, Connecticut with a dual degree in Environmental Analysis & Policy and Film & Television. He is the Founder and Host of The Sweaty Penguin, where he writes and hosts episodes, manages the team, and struggles to keep any sort of sleep schedule. He is also a Writer and Commentator for Young Voices, an Eco Representative for Earth Angel Sustainable Production Services, and a Social Media Specialist with Youth Collective. His writing has appeared in outlets such as The Hill and Orange County Register, and he has appeared as an expert on programs such as Scripps News and The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe. Ethan originally found climate change very overwhelming and depressing, but fortunately, he had the skills to combat that. From ages 10-15, he performed a mental math stage show around the world — culminating in winning an episode of FOX’s TV show SuperHuman — and became adept at turning a scary subject like math into something fun and entertaining. He also ran BU’s satire publication The Bunion for two years — growing it from just himself to a 90 person team — and there, gained experience finding humor in many challenging topics. But climate change was always a priority, and when quarantine hit, he launched The Sweaty Penguin and hasn’t looked back since. In his free time, Ethan loves watching football, cooking, karaoke, working on his fish tank, and complaining about pineapple on pizza.

Hallie Cordingley
Producer
Hallie Cordingley is a Senior at Boston University from Littleton, Massachusetts obtaining a B.A. in Environmental Analysis and Policy and a B.A. in Economics. She is a Producer for The Sweaty Penguin, researching/writing/fact checking episodes, managing the news and social media team, and working on audience engagement and educational outreach, among other tasks. Hallie writes for Boston University’s The Emerald Review, a student-led environmental newspaper. She serves as the President of Boston University’s Sustainable Ocean Alliance Chapter, and interns at Visualizing Energy, a platform that makes energy data understandable to a wider audience. She has worked on science communication at the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, learning how to effectively communicate climate change. In the past, she interned with both iUNU agtech, helping gain funding for greenhouse technologies in urban communities, and CropTalk, a podcast discussing integrative pest management. Hallie has a passion for applying her environmental skills in the agricultural and energy sectors, and the intersection between economies and our planet.

Owen Reith
Producer
Owen Reith is a senior at the University of Victoria pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce. He is a Researcher for The Sweaty Penguin, researching/writing episodes, fact checking, and working on various projects on the business side. Growing up in the mountains of Whistler, BC cultivated Owen‘s passion for the outdoors and fostered a drive to face today’s climate issues and create a sustainable future. Further, by traveling all over Canada to play hockey, Owen got to experience how multiple communities address issues. This experience allowed him to gain knowledge in many facets of life, while learning how different regions are dealing with the climate crisis.

Shannon Damiano
Co-Producer
Shannon Damiano is a recent graduate from Boston University with a B.S in journalism. From Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey, she is a Producer for The Sweaty Penguin, designing social media graphics and web comics, adding jokes to scripts, and spearheading the news section of the website. In addition to her journalism work for The Sweaty Penguin, Shannon has been published in The Cambridge Chronicle, and The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s independent student newspaper. Shannon also served as Editor-in-Chief of BU’s satire publication The Bunion in Fall 2021, and as Copy Editor and Photo Editor before that. As a kid, Shannon had a passion for marine biology, and has thoroughly enjoyed applying her journalism experience to climate and environmental issues.

Madeleine Salman
Associate Producer
Madeleine is a recent graduate of Boston University from Miami, Florida with a B.S. in Film and Television and a minor in Spanish. She manages the comedy team for The Sweaty Penguin, where she writes jokes, revises scripts, and more. When she isn’t using her degree to write fart jokes, Madeleine self publishes think pieces and long form articles on her personal blog, Unsupervised. In addition to writing, Madeleine cares deeply about environmental conservation and sustainability. This passion has helped her establish solar powered cellular charging stations in nine parks across her hometown of Coral Gables and motivated her to produce several film projects focused on sustainability while at Boston University.

Megan Antone
Associate Producer
Megan Antone is a graduate of Boston University from Forth Worth, Texas with a double B.S. in Film & TV and Public Relations. She is a Sound Editor for The Sweaty Penguin, where she mixes episodes and is quickly becoming an expert in royalty-free music and slide whistle sound FX. She is also currently working at NBCUniversal in New York as an Account Services Representative for Bravo. While Megan didn’t study any environmentalism in school, her fiery devotion to Discovery’s Shark Week led her into 3 weeks of an oceanography minor, before promptly realizing she was horrible at chemistry and could not keep up; she still enjoys Shark Week every summer. In her free time, Megan enjoys puppetry (viewing and creating), comedy, and searching for sweet, delicious pie in NYC.

Sabrina Rollings
Social Media Manager
Sabrina Rollings is a recent graduate of Boston University from Norwalk, Connecticut with a B.S. in Film and Television. She is currently a first year graduate student at New York University, getting her Masters in Integrated Marketing. At the Sweaty Penguin, Sabrina is the Social Media Manager, writing copy, creating graphics and managing posts across all social media platforms. While she was in undergrad, Sabrina was the Social Media Manager for BU’s only feminist satire publication, The Pinky Toe, where she helped publish content, create graphics, and made merch that she wears way too often. Besides social media, Sabrina is also very passionate about Broadway, quoting TikToks, and stress-making google docs.

Velina Georgi
Comedy Writer
Velina is a recent graduate of College of Charleston from Columbia, South Carolina with a B. A. in Psychology and a minor in Data Science. She is a comedy writer for The Sweaty Penguin, where she writes jokes, revises scripts, and more. She founded and ran CofC’s first satire publication, The Cougar Report, which published comedic articles about culture and events regarding the college. She enjoys weekly trivia at her favorite bar, cuddling with her cats, painting gel designs, and doing all kinds of puzzles!

Mo Polyak
Comedy Writer
Mo Polyak is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago from Brookfield, WI with a B.A. in Comedy and Television, so if the jokes aren’t funny, blame the education system. Mo is a fresh face and voice here at The Sweaty Penguin where she assists in pitching jokes and writing silly little words in scripts to make you giggle while being informed. Mo’s past work includes a weekly satirical news program titled “The Mo Sho’”, many many classes at Chicago’s The Second City (thank you, mom), and winner of Universal’s #GoPitchYourself where she wrote and starred in a promo for Pitch Perfect 3 with Elizabeth Banks. In her spare time, Mo likes to write comedy songs, put hot sauce on everything, and buy books she’ll probably never read.

Emma Jones
Researcher

Alia Bonanno
Research Fellow
Alia Bonanno is a rising freshman at Columbia University from Scottsdale, Arizona who is planning to study chemistry and English. She is a Research Fellow at the Sweaty Penguin, where she helps fact check and outline scripts and is helping with the Sweaty Penguin’s educational initiatives. She recently completed her tenure at her school’s newspaper, The Exonian, as Managing Editor and was the head of three environmental clubs (Sunrise Exeter, Environmental Action Committee, and Environmental Proctors). In her free time, Alia enjoys running, reading, and playing with her dogs.

Dare Fitzpatrick
Research Fellow
Dare Fitzpatrick is a sophomore at Swarthmore College from Santa Barbara, California studying Environmental Studies and Psychology. She is a Research Fellow for The Sweaty Penguin, researching, outlining, and fact checking episodes in addition to working on educational resources to supplement the podcast. She is interested in sustainable agriculture, specifically in relation to native plants and ecosystems, and she enjoys gardening. In fact, this spring she traveled to Umbria, Italy to work on an organic and sustainable farm where she learned more about the daily commitment needed to maintain an environmentally conscious agricultural system. She also worked on her high school magazine staff for three years, writing and managing a range of articles centering topics of social justice and environmentalism (and occasionally reality TV). Aside from environmental work, Dare loves to be outdoors hiking, running, or even reading a good book.

Iliana Garner
Journalism Fellow
Iliana Garner is a sophomore at Northwestern University from Chicago studying journalism and international studies. She is a journalism fellow for The Sweaty Penguin, reporting on topical environmental issues. Iliana also serves as the creative director of North by Northwestern magazine and is published in Ms. Magazine, Medill Reports and The Daily Northwestern. She also writes a column about snails for Northwestern’s nature magazine. In her free time, she loves knitting and taking care of her six pet snails.

Mikaela Gonzalez
Research Fellow
Mikaela Gonzalez is a sophomore at Swarthmore College from El Paso, TX studying Environmental Studies and Biology. She is a Research Fellow for The Sweaty Penguin, and aids in writing episode outlines, fact-checking scripts, and grant writing & fundraising. In Texas, Mikaela has spent her time advocating for sustainable policymaking through her involvement in Sunrise El Paso. During her time at Swarthmore College, Mikaela has become increasingly involved with C4 – a campus coalition that supports Chester, Pennsylvania’s fight for an end to environmental racism and inequality. In her free time, Mikaela enjoys swimming, going to the movie theater, and spending time with her cats. She is thrilled to be a part of The Sweaty Penguin team!

Sofia Mansilla
Design Fellow
Sofia Mansilla is an incoming freshman at the University of Chicago from Recife, Brazil planning to study chemistry. At Sweaty Penguin, she is a Design Fellow, designing graphics for Instagram and TikTok and creating art for the 101s and Comics sections of the website. When she was a high school student at the Loomis Chaffee School, she wrote a children comic book on climate change in the world of insects. During her free time, she loves reading, playing with the microscope, and watching Gilmore Girls!

Rona Medovoi-Klotz
Journalism Fellow
Roe Medovoi-Klotz is a Sophomore at Smith College from Portland, OR and is pursuing a degree in English and Sociology with a minor in French. Roe is currently a Journalism fellow at The Sweaty Penguin, doing research, writing news articles and creating graphics for the social media team. During her first year of college, Roe was a writer for the Berkeley Beacon, Emerson college’s student newspaper, and worked as a front desk manager at the Journalism department. Besides Journalism, Roe is very passionate about creative writing, sketching, gardening in her backyard and spending countless hours with her border collie Noodle.

Gabby Mussulman-Watson
Design Fellow
Gabby Mussulman-Watson is a junior at the University of Kansas from Kansas City, MO studying Environmental Studies with an Art Minor. They are a Design Fellow for the Sweaty Penguin, designing graphics, comics, and memes, for Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube in the future. While not studying how to save the planet, you can find Gabby hiking/ getting lost in the woods, baking bread, or crocheting bucket hats.

Aana Shenai
Research Fellow
Aana Shenai is a freshman at Loyola University Chicago from Cincinnati, Ohio studying Environmental Science. She is a Research Fellow for the Sweaty Penguin, researching and fact-checking episodes and helping create educational resources. Her interest in solving climate change originated from many summers spent working and volunteering at a local farm summer camp. Passionate about sustainable agriculture, she enjoyed teaching kids about where food comes from and where it goes when we throw it away. In high school, she began working with several environmental activist organizations, often leading initiatives centered around climate education and encouraging others to take action in their communities. She believes in creating long-term change to build a more sustainable future for all young people. In her perfect world, climate education becomes a subject like math or English in schools. When not in school or working, Aana enjoys reading, cooking, thrifting, and especially traveling.

Ainsley Jane Tambling
Research Fellow
Ainsley Jane Tambling is a rising sophmore at Swarthmore College from Menlo Park, CA studying a little bit of everything (but with an greater interest in the sciences). She is a Research Fellow for The Sweaty Penguin, where she creates outlines, fact checks episodes, and works on grants and fundraising.. Ainsley Jane swims on Swarthmore’s varsity swim team and in the summer, you can often find her on the pool deck helping to coach the swim team she grew up on. Ainsley Jane is also an avid duck lover and has an extensive duck and duck inspired collection of items, including (of course), lots of rubber ducks (including some penguin ones!).