Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows

​An award-winning journalist and a former environmental columnist with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Mark Harris is a recognized authority on the “green burial” movement and the modern funeral industry. Harris’ book, Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial (2007, Scribner), has been called the “manifesto of the [green burial] movement.” It’s the first book to explore the environmental aftermath of modern burial and funerals in North America and to showcase the natural alternatives that are coming to replace them. Harris has also given presentations on the art and craft of environmental journalism. He is currently writing a book that follows the construction of one of greenest and senior-friendly homes in the state of Georgia. Harris has been a guest on Terry Gross’ NPR show Fresh Air, CNN, MSNBC and ABC World News. His views on death and dying have been reported on in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and U.S. News & World Report, among others.