Olivia George joins The Washington Post’s Local desk as a breaking news reporter

In this new role, Olivia will capture the unexpected news, dynamic culture and daily life of the Washington region, driving conversations and delighting readers with stories that explore the characters, quirks and tensions in the vibrant, diverse communities in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Olivia has shown in her coverage of transportation and local government in Florida to be a dogged beat reporter who excels at holding public officials to account. She revealed that a top executive at a county public transit agency held a full-time, public-sector job in another state, and exposed turmoil in Tampa’s largest shelter for homeless veterans. When Tampa’s mayor touted progress on her promise to add 10,000 affordable homes to the city’s inventory by the end of 2027, Olivia dug into the data to fact check, finding examples of exaggeration and misrepresentation.

Even in covering something as simple as the closure of a public pool, Olivia found a way to elevate the story so that it captured how a community was grappling with the end of a historic gathering spot, and how communities of color had shouldered the brunt of such losses in recent decades.

Olivia graduated from Brown University with a degree in history in 2022. As a student, she wrote for The Virginian-Pilot, The Providence Journal and The Boston Globe. She was recently awarded the Outstanding New Journalist prize from the Florida chapter of the Society for Professional Journalism.

In her spare time, Olivia enjoys swimming, hiking and scouring estate sales for deals. Before starting college, she spent six months hitchhiking through Southeast Asia. She told us she dreams of returning one day.

Please join us in welcoming Olivia to The Post. She starts on Nov. 11.