In a note to newsroom staff, Chief Washington Editor, Krishnadev Calamur, shared the following update:
All:
We are delighted to announce that Kelsey Snell will formally take over the role of Congressional editor (formally, because she's been doing the job for months now). Kelsey, whose reporting focus was budget, tax and economic policy, brings a wealth of congressional experience to the job, reporting on two historic presidential impeachments, the confirmation hearings for three Supreme Court justices, and the infrastructure bill. She has also guest hosted most of the network's shows and live coverage for some of the biggest political stories.
More recently, she has shepherded the Hill team through the historic defenestration of a House speaker, a senator's unprecedented hold on military nominations, and yet another government shutdown. Kelsey takes the role at a particularly crucial time for Congress and indeed American democracy as our team puts its finishing touches on a plan to cover a very long election season.
We know that her years of covering Congress will provide critical insights to the network during this election season and beyond.
Also, please welcome Stephen Fowler who joins the Washington Desk as a reporter. Before joining NPR, Stephen spent more than seven years at Georgia Public Broadcasting, where he was a political reporter and host of the "Battleground: Ballot Box" podcast, covering voting rights and election law, state government and campaigns.
Stephen has been a frequent contributor to NPR's newscasts and news programs, chronicling fallout from the 2020 presidential election, the evolution of the Republican Party and other changes driving Georgia's growing prominence in American politics.
A lifelong multigenerational Georgian, he is a 2016 graduate of Emory University, served as the Executive Digital Editor of The Emory Wheel and was part of the inaugural cohort of the Georgia News Lab, a yearlong investigative journalism program.
His reporting has appeared everywhere from the Center for Public Integrity and the Columbia Journalism Review to the PBS NewsHour and ProPublica.
In his free time, he sings with a competitive men's barbershop chorus, collects interesting musical instruments and enjoys coming up with terrible puns. Stephen will be with us until the end of the election season as part of a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Also, Lexie Schapitl, our producer extraordinaire, will take on an expanded role for the election, serving as both producer and editor on the congressional and politics teams. Anyone who has worked with Lexie can attest to not only how sharp her news judgment is, but also that she doesn't hesitate about sharing her views on what makes a script better – whether that's through more sound or better writing. Lexie's role will provide the desk with additional editing strength during an intense cycle.
Please join us in congratulating Kelsey and Lexie and welcoming Stephen.
– Krishnadev, Dana, Muthoni, Andrew
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