Sylvia Barrett was born in Whitehorse, Yukon. A Ryerson journalism graduate, she has been a senior editor at The Walrus and Canadian Geographic, founding editor of Ottawa Magazine, originally called Ottawa City, and science editor and later managing editor of Equinox. Sylvia has an abiding interest in the environment, health and medicine, natural history, social sciences, and arts and culture. A partner in Touchplate Editorial and Design Service for the past decade, she lives in Kingston, Ontario.