David Leffler is an Austin-based staff writer for Public Health Watch, where he covers toxic chemical pollution and other environmental health issues. His work has produced two enterprise investigations. The first, “A Texas County Wants to Punish Polluters. The State Won’t Let It,” explored the environmental justice battle between oil-backed Texas politicians and young, local elected officials of color in Houston. The second, “For Years, the EPA and Texas Ignored Warning Signs at a Chemical Storage Site. Then an Inferno Erupted,” connected nearly two decades of federal and state negligence to an industrial fire that spewed the carcinogen benzene into communities.

David is a 2023 Livingston Award finalist and his work has appeared in The Washington Post, Grist, The Texas Tribune and Texas Monthly.