Zielbauer founded Roadmonkey and coined the phrase "adventure philanthropy" in 2008, while still a reporter at The New York Times. Roadmonkey has been called "a new kind of travel" because of its intent to blend off-the-path adventure with hands-on volunteer projects that benefit people and communities in need., writing about Zielbauer, called him "a guy we like" because it said Roadmonkey seeks to "combine physically challenging expeditions with humanitarian efforts." At The New York Times, Zielbauer worked primarily for the Metro desk, where he covered the New York City jail system and reported on the intersection or organized labor and organized crime. During periods in 2006 and 2007, he covered the war in Iraq and the aftermath of the September 2007 killings of civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square by Blackwater military contractors. In 2007, Zielbauer became The Times' beat reporter on the military justice system, covering high-profile military prosecutions of alleged war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Zielbauer's extensive coverage of the 2005 Haditha killings in Iraq generated criticism from some conservatives. From 2000 to 2003, Zielbauer was The Times' Connecticut bureau chief, covering politics and the state's . Zielbauer's series on privatized prison medical care focused on the practices and performance of Prison Health Services Inc., the Tennessee company that provided care to jail inmates on Rikers Island. Zielbauer began his journalism career in 1992 at the City News Bureau of Chicago, covering homicides, fires and, on the overnight shift, the Chicago Police Department. He left the wire service in late 1993 to embark on a 4-month, 1200-mile solo cycling trek from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he wrote a front-page article for Crain's Chicago Business about American businesses in Vietnam preparing for the end of the U.S. economic embargo. From 1994 to 1995 Zielbauer was a staff reporter for The Orange County Register, covering Orange County's large immigrant Vietnamese community. While in graduate journalism school in New York City, Zielbauer worked part-time as a researcher for the Committee to Protect Journalists. From 1997 to 1998, he was the environment reporter for The Times-Union of Albany, NY, and wrote about pollution threats to the Hudson River.
Media & Public Appearances
Zielbauer has appeared on CNN and National Public Radio to discuss his New York Times reporting. He and Roadmonkey Adventure Philanthropy have been featured by ,, Outside magazine, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, and other national publications. Zielbauer frequently writes about and has been a speaker at thought-leadership conferences including and the Conference.
