West Seattle filmmaker/diver/environmentalist Laura James has won a 2015 Emmy® Award in Environmental Feature/Segment in the Northwest Region of the US.

The award was presented on June 6 for her underwater video work on Solving the Mystery of Dying Starfish produced by KCTS9's Katie Campbell and edited by Michael Werner. Laura is a Seattle based videographer.

This is Laura’s second Emmy®. She won her first Emmy® in 2014 in the Health/Science Feature/Segment category in the Northwest Region for Sea Otters vs. Climate Change produced by Michael Werner for Quest PBS.

Laura said, “The Emmy® Awards in the Northwest Region are a favorite. It’s wonderful to see the team recognized for their continued excellence in the field of environmental reporting. This was my third year attending and second year taking home an award for my contribution to a great story. The starfish story is special to me because I was directly involved in the event; documenting and helping build a citizen science reporting website related to the crisis. It really felt personal. This Emmy® feels very well earned as we were up against several other brilliant stories in this tough category.”

Laura has been contributing to local media stories for the past decade and sharing the underwater world with divers and non-divers alike. She is the director of www.tox-ick.org, a grass roots storm water education program dedicated to helping reduce the flow of polluted runoff into Puget Sound.

Laura has spent the past two years building Beneath the Looking Glass’ project “Know What’s Below”, a curriculum extension. “Know What’s Below” has been developed from the ground up with the mission of inspiring, connecting, preserving, and protecting our underwater world. She uses multi-media, narrated video shorts, OpenROV builds with students, and presenting about the amazing marine ecosystem around the Pacific Northwest to deliver the program. www.btlgproject.com

KCTS 9 first went on the air on Dec. 7, 1954 broadcasting from the campus of the University of Washington using equipment donated by KING-TV owner Dorothy Bullitt. In 1970, National Educational Television was absorbed into the newly created Public Broadcasting Service. KCTS 9 is seen throughout southwestern British Columbia on local cable systems, across Canada on the Bell TV, Shaw Direct satellite providers, as well as, on many other Canadian cable TV systems.

The Emmy® Awards of the Northwest Region highlights each year's regional activities with an award ceremony in June. Along with the Emmy® Awards, the chapter provides the region's professionals with seminars, programs, and networking. The Northwest Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences serves television and media professionals in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington.