April Michelle Short
Journalist, Yoga Teacher

Professional journalist April M. Short, a lifelong feminist and hatha yoga teacher based in Portland, Oregon, writes about the exploration of consciousness, social justice, health and environmental issues-- especially those pertaining to the global, U.S.-led war on drugs. Her work explores the paradigm shift around the cultural and medical renaissance in psychedelics and cannabis research. A yoga, barre and pilates teacher, April also writes about yoga and mindfulness through personal narratives as well as character profiles that capture the human realities behind social issues. She approaches psychedelics, cannabis, mental health, prisons, feminism and the environment (all of which she believes often relate to the war on drugs) from both scientific and cultural perspectives.

A native of California’s Central Coast, April graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a BA in English literature and the history of the modern Middle East in 2011. She was an editor at the university’s award-winning student-run newspaper, City on a Hill Press, then began her professional career at the local weekly paper, Good Times Santa Cruz, while still a university student. She is now a part time managing editor at AlterNet.org, and writes regularly for the San Francisco Chronicle, AlterNet and many other publications. She is also a documentary film assistant editor and line producer at the Cinematic Syndicate. April recently received a Cosmic Sisters of Cannabis grant for developing the story "Why Women Are Leading the Charge to (Re)unite Cannabis and Yoga, published in LA Yoga on April 20, 2017.