Emily Olson is a digital journalist who's passionate about young, diverse audiences and figuring out how to connect them with legacy media outlets. In her current role as head of live blogs for the Associated Press, she's helping to turn a 175-year-old wire service into an online powerhouse. She designed the AP's live blog workflow from the ground up and works with every team across the organization to drive digital strategy for major events and spot news. She came to the AP from NPR, where she served as a live blog editor and also wrote a lot — for the web, for radio and for social media. She previously worked as a digital reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's North America bureau. Criss-crossing the U.S. in service of an international audience, she wrote everything from quick-turn analysis to long-form features, covering the pandemic, the protests over racial injustice, the 2020 presidential election and a million things in between. From Aug. 2021 to Sept. 2022, she took a break from journalism to recover from burnout and explore other career paths. She kept herself afloat by working in retail (fun! But not lucrative) and dabbled in PR (lucrative, but not fun). But she caved the second an editor asked her to consider coming back to the industry. There's just no place quite like a newsroom. Emily holds a Master's in journalism from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor's in English from University of the Pacific. She completed both degrees with Summa Cum Laude distinction, both before the age of 22. She lives in Washington DC, where she enjoys new books, old movies and long hikes with her black lab, Buttercup. You can find a fuller resume here.