Phillip David Orchard - Profile

Phillip Orchard, Phillip Orchard

Phillip spent four years as a sportswriter for newspapers like the Austin American-Statesman, the Houston Chronicle and Street and Smith's magazine. He covered every sport imaginable, from the 2005 Rose Bowl to women's professional football, before leaving the industry to pursue a wider variety of stories than sports media could offer. Since then, he lived in a tent in New Orleans while helping rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina, did educational development work in the Dominican Republic and pursued stories in war-torn West Africa.

While earning his BA in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, Phillip twice earned Gold Circle honors from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and won several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phillip has explored backpacking trails all over the United States and Iceland, and loves the challenges of wilderness skill and survival.