Burlington Free Press editor: I'll be joining you as a reader of burlingtonfreepress.com

Dear Reader,

Monday will be my final day with the Burlington Free Press — my professional home for nearly nine years. I leave the Free Press' excellent team of journalists to pursue an editing opportunity at the Sacramento Bee, where I will work as a senior editor charged with developing in-depth journalism.

I am excited to practice journalism in a new city and to rock climb cliffs in the Sierras. At the same time, I hold great affection for Vermont and the people of this state.

My time at the Free Press has been formative. I have held four different editing roles in the newsroom and have served as the top editor for three years. My trajectory defies some of the assumptions I have heard non-Vermonters make about those of us who live in the Green Mountains.

"Oh, you live in Vermont?" a Brooklyn barista said to me. "I love Vermont. You moved there to ski?"

"I'm no skier," I said. "I moved for a career."

And that is the absolute truth. I came to the Free Press as a 28-year-old with a newly minted master's degree in journalism. I had spent my post-undergrad years stringing together teaching gigs and trying my hand at making lattes and milking cows. I stumbled into journalism with a scholarship from the University of Missouri and found that the work suited my interest in people, my belief in fairness and truth and my love of writing. 

The Free Press gave me my first opportunity to grow as an editor and to find joy serving as a partner to reporters and editors and as liaison between you, the reader, and our newsroom. 

I leave with gratitude to you for trusting me to practice journalism on your behalf and deep appreciation for the team of dedicated journalists that work at the Free Press. I have every confidence that the staff will continue to deliver meaningful stories that reflect the issues that are most relevant to your lives. 

Though I will no longer lead the newsroom, I look forward to joining you as a reader of the team's work and a subscriber of the BurlingtonFreePress.com.

Yours,

Emilie

Contact Emilie Stigliani at 802-310-8757. Follow on Twitter: @EmilieStigliani.