Katy Burnell Evans joins The Washington Post as an assignment editor on the local government and politics team

Announcement from Local Editor Mike Semel and Deputy Local Editor Monica Norton:

We are thrilled to announce that Katy Burnell Evans is joining The Post as an assignment editor on the local government and politics team.

Evans comes to us from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where she was news editor and creative team leader, directing the metro coverage and reimagining beats for the future. Evans edited the columns by Michael Paul Williams that won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

Evans is an editor who has pushed the Times-Dispatch toward deep accountability reporting, as well as textured pieces and narratives about how Richmond is battling its past as the capital of the Confederacy.

Evans also co–chaired the Reconciliation Project for the Times-Dispatch. In its past the paper, supported massive resistance to equal rights for Black Americans, ran KKK promotional material and ads offering rewards for the capture and return of those who escaped enslavement. In her role with the project, Evans helped lead a team that aids communities that were harmed by those actions.

Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Evans has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Mary Washington and a master’s in multimedia journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her first job was at the Hopewell News, and she has been in Richmond since 2015.

When she is not editing or wrangling her 3-year-old twins and their 6-year-old brother, Evans is an avid runner and hiker.

Katy will work with Jennifer Barrios overseeing our coverage of politics and government in the District, Maryland and Virginia. She starts Nov. 1. Please join us in welcoming her.