Please welcome our new lead editor, Julie Strupp!

Hi everyone! My name is Julie Strupp, and I'm delighted to be joining Greater Greater Washington as the new Lead Editor.

Over the years I've read GGWash and perused your comments to gain a deeper understanding of urbanist issues in the Washington region. During that time, the blog has grown from a wonky forum into a bona fide local media force–while retaining its core of passionate contributors that make it all possible. Part of this success, I suspect, is because we engage in something called “solutions journalism.” Writers don't simply bemoan problems, but also make an educated pitch for how to best move forward. It's often a more difficult but also more optimistic style of writing, and media studies have shown that readers are hungry for this type of analysis. I know I am.

This is what I'll be working on:

As you all well know, access to affordable transportation and housing as well as high-quality food, water, and schools greatly impacts our potential to live a safe and happy life. Your writing about solutions to local problems is already making a real impact on our communities here, and GGWash is continuing to grow–hence the need for an editor. I'll be working on the following things:

1. Ensuring our posts are clear and accessible to readers of all stripes, while maintaining our smart urbanist voice and impassioned debates
2. Helping contributors without an urbanist background understand our ethos, and teaching urbanist contributors certain journalistic practices
3. Recruiting and mentoring a more diverse writer pool to bring in under-covered voices and perspectives to GGWash
4. Trying different post formats and integrating new types of media to better tell your stories
5. Figuring out what issues and areas merit deeper coverage, and recruiting corresponding writers and columnists

I'm delighted to begin working with you all, and am eager to hear your suggestions, visions, and other feedback!

A bit about me:

I'm a journalist by trade. Out of college I worked for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative journalism, digging into things like human trafficking and juvenile justice laws. More recently I've worked for DCist and Washingtonian, reporting on a variety of issues including homelessness, race, gender, and politics. For more than two years I served in the Peace Corps, working with Togolese communities to reduce gender-based violence and bolster food and financial security. My time there (as well as growing up on a rural Wisconsin farm and living on a pothole-riddled street now) has given me a visceral appreciation for why infrastructure matters.

Currently I'm a Park View dweller and an all-weather biker. If I'm not working I'm probably ingesting news articles or graphic novels, rocking out at the Black Cat or 9:30 Club, or hanging out with my neighbors on the stoop. I practice judo regularly and listen to geeky podcasts every day when I wake up and while I cook. (Your recommendations welcome.)

I'm thrilled to be joining the Greater Greater Washington team and community. The work you do here matters, and I genuinely admire the passion, smarts, and commitment of our commentators and writers. I'm excited to learn from you and to work together to enable even more great analysis. If you have any editorial questions or comments, or would like to discuss an idea over caffeine or a cold brew, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

If you have thoughts about GGWash articles or are interested in writing a piece (or better yet, a column), Julie wants to hear from you. Email her at: jstrupp@ggwash.org.