Mission
Our mission is to help make sustainability mainstream in our community.
Cape Fear’s Going Green magazine is a vehicle for area residents to learn about “green” projects being implemented successfully by people in their own community. The publication and its website offer timely information on events, promote dialogue among friends and neighbors, and serve as a resource to anyone who has an interest in “going green.”
Vision
History
Valerie Robertson started Cape Fear’s Going Green to fill a two-pronged information void. First, in 2006 she noticed the Wilmington area had many individuals and small groups that were passionate about some aspect of promoting a green lifestyle, but whose efforts were known by only a very few people. Second, she heard more and more people asking for—and not finding—information on local eco-friendly products and services. Eager to behave in a more environmentally-sensitive way, they were often stymied by a lack of information with a local focus. Valerie started the magazine to serve as a central information hub for local environmental information.
Valerie is publicity chair for:
>> Native Plant Festival
She is on the advisory committee for:
Going Green & Publisher Awards
>> Wilmington Webbie Runner-up, 2009
Valerie Robertson
Publisher & Editor
A native mid-westerner, Valerie’s interest in things environmental started in 1970 with the first Earth Day, when she was asked to take notes at an Earth Day Symposium hosted by her high school. Early in her career she worked for an engineer who specialized in solar heating and cooling systems and loved tramping around construction sites to help him note the progress of cutting-edge solar designs. These designs were performed by architects whose projects later graced the pages of Architectural Digest and Dwell magazine. For fun, she attended national American Solar Energy Society meetings and the annual Solar Decathlon.
Her 50-year career as a writer and editor includes helping her father start a publishing company to publish his actuarial books and five years as a technical writer for Lockheed Martin. She has freelanced for the Passive Solar Industry Council, the Oracle Development Tools User Group, Coastal Carolina Press, Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Choice Caregivers, Inc., North Carolina quilt guilds, TNT and the NBC News Channel. In 2001 she started a popular local publication, Cape Fear Arts Alive, as a guide to the local arts community. An artist herself, she has shown her fiber art in national shows, including the prestigious American Crafts Council winter Baltimore show.
Valerie attended Swarthmore College, where she studied languages and earned a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology. She enjoys travel, singing, live music, furry dogs and scuba diving. She lives inWilmington where she shares a 1920s bungalow with her favorite public radio personality.
Valerie Robertson
Publisher & Editor
A native mid-westerner, Valerie’s interest in things environmental started in 1970 with the first Earth Day, when she was asked to take notes at an Earth Day Symposium hosted by her high school. Early in her career she worked for an engineer who specialized in solar heating and cooling systems and loved tramping around construction sites to help him note the progress of cutting-edge solar designs. These designs were performed by architects whose projects later graced the pages of Architectural Digest and Dwell magazine. For fun, she attended national American Solar Energy Society meetings and the annual Solar Decathlon.
Her 45-year career as a writer and editor includes helping her father start a publishing company to publish his actuarial books and five years as a technical writer for Lockheed Martin. She has freelanced for the Passive Solar Industry Council, the Oracle Development Tools User Group, Coastal Carolina Press, Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Choice Caregivers, Inc., North Carolina quilt guilds, TNT and the NBC News Channel. In 2001 she started a popular local publication, Cape Fear Arts Alive, as a guide to the local arts community. An artist herself, she has shown her fiber art in national shows, including the prestigious American Crafts Council winter Baltimore show.
Valerie attended Swarthmore College, where she studied languages and earned a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology. She enjoys travel, singing, live music, furry dogs and scuba diving. She lives inWilmington where she shares a 1920s bungalow with her favorite public radio personality.
Valerie is publicity chair for:
>> Native Plant Festival
She is on the advisory committee for:
Going Green & Publisher Awards
>> Wilmington Webbie Runner-up, 2009
Valerie Robertson
Publisher & Editor
A native mid-westerner, Valerie’s interest in things environmental started in 1970 with the first Earth Day, when she was asked to take notes at an Earth Day Symposium hosted by her high school. Early in her career she worked for an engineer who specialized in solar heating and cooling systems and loved tramping around construction sites to help him note the progress of cutting-edge solar designs. These designs were performed by architects whose projects later graced the pages of Architectural Digest and Dwell magazine. For fun, she attended national American Solar Energy Society meetings and the annual Solar Decathlon.
Her 45-year career as a writer and editor includes helping her father start a publishing company to publish his actuarial books and five years as a technical writer for Lockheed Martin. She has freelanced for the Passive Solar Industry Council, the Oracle Development Tools User Group, Coastal Carolina Press, Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Choice Caregivers, Inc., North Carolina quilt guilds, TNT and the NBC News Channel. In 2001 she started a popular local publication, Cape Fear Arts Alive, as a guide to the local arts community. An artist herself, she has shown her fiber art in national shows, including the prestigious American Crafts Council winter Baltimore show.
Valerie attended Swarthmore College, where she studied languages and earned a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology. She enjoys travel, singing, live music, furry dogs and scuba diving. She lives inWilmington where she shares a 1920s bungalow with her favorite public radio personality.
Valerie is publicity chair for:
>> Native Plant Festival
She is on the advisory committee for:
>> OLLI’s SEA and Coffee Series (Science and
Environmental Academy)
Going Green & Publisher Awards
>> Wilmington Webbie Runner-up, 2009
Mary Robertson
Eugene Contributing Editor
Mary Robertson studied journalism at George Washington University, then traveled the world and enjoyed a career in outdoor retail management before settling in Eugene, Oregon, one of the nation’s “greenest” cities. Here she continues her lifelong pursuit of becoming a Renaissance woman: she sings in a community choir, meets regularly with her fiction-writing group, and rings in her church handbell choir.
She tries to eat something out of her garden every month of the year—that’s zero food miles! Like many Eugene residents, Mary gardens in raised beds, buys from local farmers, carries her own shopping bags and is a fan of composting. “Worms are good!” She enjoys camping, late-night domino games and working on her 1948 cottage, where she lives with her Norwegian Elkhound, Jasper.
Our contributors
Shelby Diehl Flores
Contributing Editor
Shelby Diehl Flores graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington with a Bachelor of Science in environmental science with a concentration in conservation and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing with a certificate in publishing. Originally from Michigan, her interests lie in climate change, forests, water, and wildlife. As a contributor, Shelby proofreads the magazine, contributes articles, and creates the magazine’s crossword puzzle. She now works as Southeast Forestry Communications Specialist at the National Wildlife Federation.
Beth Saile
Contributing Editor
Beth Saile is a recent graduate from UNCW, having obtained both her M.S. in Environmental Science and Education, and her graduate certificate in GIS. She is a Geographic Information System Intern with North Carolina Sea Grant, and is pursuing her North Carolina Environmental Education Certification. She believes in making science and environmental education accessible to everyone, especially children. She enjoys hiking, writing, music and spending time with her daughter, Luna.
Shannon Pragosa
Contributor
Shannon Pragosa was a Going Green intern in 2017, when she was a UNCW student majoring in English with a focus on Professional Writing with a concentration in Science Writing. She received her M.A. in English Language and Literaature from Eastern Carolina University in 2025. She now lives in Summerville, South Carolina where she continues to foster and rescue as many animals as she can. She still volunteers to create our kids korner page, explaining the flora and fauna of Coastal Carolina.
Maya Dulli-Ray
Contributor
Maya Dulli-Ray is studying Communication at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is also double minoring in two of her biggest passions—Journalism and Coastal and Environmental Writing. She was our spring 2025 intern through UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Maya dreams of working with National Geographic one day and traveling the world. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, listening to music, and spending time outdoors.
Rhianna Beaupré
Contributor
Rhianna Beaupré is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington majoring in both creative writing and Spanish, as well as working towards her publishing certificate. She was a fall 2025 intern with Going Green. Originally from Colorado, Rhianna spent her childhood growing up alongside wildlife in the mountains. She enjoys writing poetry rooted in nature, as well as writing fiction.
Maddy Hennig
Intern Spring 2026
Maddy Hennig is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington majoring in creative writing. Writing mainly in fiction and poetry, she has nonfiction pieces surrounding her childhood growing up in rural Vermont. She is working towards publishing her own novel and working in the publishing industry.
Casey Nelson
Contributor
Casey Nelson is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She enjoys creating healthy recipes for Going Green using produce from local farmers. She grew up in Rockville, Maryland. Casey has degrees in psychology from the University of Maryland and in journalism from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She has also lived in Vermont where she started her 16-year career in Health and Wellness. She is a certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is studying herbal medicine with Dr. Aviva Romm. Casey is an animal advocate and has a deep love for the ocean.
caseynelsonwellness@gmail.com.
Brielle Nugent
Intern Spring 2026
Brielle Nugent is a junior studying Environmental Science at UNCW with plans to graduate in May 2027. She is also working on the Professional Writing Certificate and Creative Writing minor. She loves writing of all kinds, with a huge passion for storytelling and caring for the environment. She grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and chose UNCW to be close to the beach for more hands-on opportunities to connect with nature. Through working with Going Green, Brielle hopes to write articles that create compassion and awareness in Wilmington’s environment.
Sarah Rhue
Intern Spring 2024
Sarah Rhue is a Creative Writing major at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is working towards a certificate in publishing. She is a Studio Art minor. Sarah loves nature, animals (especially her cat, Amy), and spending time listening to music when she is not writing or drawing. Sarah plans on writing at least two historical fiction series, which she also illustrates.
Kiley Woods
Contributing Editor
Kiley Woods is a student at Eckerd College in Florida studying marine
biology and creative writing. She attended UNCW for two years and is a contributing writer for Going Green. She enjoys writing about all things marine life and ocean conservation on her Blue Waves blog as well as poetry with a lot of natural imagery. She hopes to work for a marine life research center and write film scripts.
Sally Smits Masten
Copyeditor
Sally Smits Masten, a copyeditor for Going Green, holds a PhD in American literature from UNCG and an MFA in poetry from UNCW. Originally from Denver, Colorado, she has lived in Wilmington for over ten years. She is interested in literature, ecocriticism, and sustainability, and she enjoys spending time outdoors and in the gardens with her husband, child, and two dogs.
Skip Wenz
Columnist
Philip S. (Skip) Wenz is a freelance writer specializing in ecological design issues. In the 1990s he founded, and for ten years directed, the Ecological Design Program at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture. He also taught “Creating Your Ecological House” at Berkeley’s Building Education Center and wrote the book Adding to a House (Taunton Press, 1995). After 18.5 years publishing his syndicated column under the name “Your Ecological House,” which was published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Cape Fear’s Going Green, and other publications nationwide, Wenz has started a new series entitled, “Your Environment.” Visit his blog at Firebird Journal—Survival and Renewal in the Anthropocene. Skip lives in Monmouth, Oregon with his wife, Pam.
