About Us
Welcome to the Austin Monitor
Whether you have lived in Austin for five days or 50 years, you already know all about the vibrant and special energy that both defines our city and propels it forward. To be sure, Austin has become one of the most desirable cities in the country. But this excitement, energy, and growth is raising big questions and important issues for our community.
The Austin Monitor is the only nonpartisan local daily news source that exclusively covers the important issues and key decisions at the intersection between the local government and the community. For over eight years, our non-profit digital publication has produced focused reporting that shines a light on critical decision-making entities and brings readers deep inside the stories that are shaping our city.
In Austin and across the county the current information landscape is also rapidly changing and leaving more and more people divided from their neighbors and the decisions and issues that affect our community. Though we are more connected than ever, the future prosperity of our community largely comes down to the quality of news and information we use to make shared decisions today. That’s why our mission is to create shared prosperity through a more informed and engaged community.
Our Team
Elizabeth Pagano, Editor-in-Chief
Liz has been writing for the Austin Monitor since late 2010, after narrowly avoiding a fate as a librarian. You can email her at editor@austinmonitor.com She also grouses on Twitter, sometimes @lizpagano.
Jo Clifton, Politics Editor
Jo is the political editor at the Monitor. She joined the In Fact staff in November 1998 when the publication was still a weekly. She became editor and publisher in mid-2000 and continued in that position until 2010, when the Statesman Co. purchased In Fact Daily, and in the months immediately following its sale to the Capital of Texas Media Foundation. Over the past 30 years, she has worked as a reporter, lawyer and judge. She has worked for the El Paso Times, the Austin American-Statesman and the Texas Observer, among others. You can email her at jo.clifton@austinmonitor.com.
Joel Gross, CEO
Joel is a devoted social impact leader bringing over a decade of experience in government, startups and nonprofits. He began his career serving as one of the youngest press secretaries in the United States Senate. Following his time on Capitol Hill, Joel taught English in Costa Rica and then was recruited to create and lead a new program department for a young health care startup in Austin. Joel is passionate about creating enduring social impact and has held multiple nonprofit senior leadership positions. He views the rapid and dramatic changes in the news and information landscape as one of the most important social challenges of our time. You can get in contact with him by emailing publisher@austinmonitor.com.
Chad Swiatecki, Reporter
Chad is a 20-year journalist who relocated to Austin from his home state of Michigan in 2008. He most enjoys covering the intersection of arts, business and local/state politics. He has written for Rolling Stone, Spin, New York Daily News, Texas Monthly, the Austin American-Statesman and many other regional and national outlets. Send tips to cswiatecki@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @TheeChad.
Our Board of Directors
Community leaders committed to our mission and providing oversight and governance for our non-profit organization:
Alaina Bompiedi • Alexander Chen • Albert Swantner • Carmen Luevanos • Cory Older • Dan Graham • Dan Rutledge • James Valadez • Jay Fox • John Kaercher • Jose Valera • Macy Hurwitz • Maggie Engler • Nathan Ryan • Paul Saldaña • Shon Bayer • Sylvia Butanda • Victoria Li • Tyson Tuttle
Our Strategic Advisory Council
Community leaders passionate about strengthening local news and the Austin community (current active members, 2024-25 cohort):
Andrea Tyrell • Anil Kalavakolanu • April Thedford • Catalina Berry • Dan Hollander • Dave Sullivan • Dinesh Salem-Natarajan • Edgar Barguiarena • Grace Chimene • Hayden Baggett • Heather Duval • James Lovett • Jeff Needles • Jim Grace • Logan McCaul • Mary Alvarez • Mary Reed • Matt Creel • Matt Harriss • Nicholas Wester • Nikola Skerl • Rick Brimer • Shayna Dunitz • Ted Barnhill • Tina Cannon • Willie Cecil •
Learn more about the council and how to join here.
Code of Ethics
At the Austin Monitor, we believe in the kind of day-in, day-out, locally focused coverage that keeps our readers civically engaged and gives them the tools to advocate for good governance and take part in a conversation about public policy in Austin.
Our reporters work to present fair, knowledgeable coverage that cynics assume is a thing of the past. As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, we try to bring our readers the stories that other outlets might pass over — nitty-gritty, fact-heavy, and sometimes dense — because, above all else, we trust that they’ll be able to make up their own minds about the news of the day… We, of course, strive to report the news accurately, and when errors happen, aim to correct them as quickly and transparently as possible.
Reporters who have a vested personal or financial interest in a topic do not report on that topic, and on the occasion that there is a situation that could be perceived as a conflict of interest, it will be disclosed. Our reporters do not accept meaningful gifts from any entity that could have an interest in our coverage. Reporters also refrain from participating in political activity around the topics that we cover, such as campaigning or petitioning.
Social media accounts directly affiliated with the Austin Monitor are subject to standards similar to the content published on our site. Personal social media accounts are subject to the policies of their platform, and if you feel those policies have been violated, reaching out to those platforms (Twitter, Instagram, etc.) is the best course of action. Along those same lines, reporting in other publications and personal writing by freelancers is not the responsibility of or endorsed by the Austin Monitor.
As a nonprofit organization, our CEO solicits donations and sponsorships as part of the course of their duties. Editorial employees have no specific knowledge of these efforts, and, indeed, Austin Monitor donors, board members, and operations staff are prohibited by policy from contacting editorial employees about how or what stories should be written. We disclose all organization donors, no matter the size of their contributions. We post a link to a list of all contributors at the bottom of each story along with a disclosure statement.
We do not discriminate about sources of support. We feel that everyone in our community should have the ability to be involved in our work. Though we are not always successful, we strive to include a healthy cross-section of supporters.
At the Monitor, we don’t just stick to stories. We take our coverage directly to the community via regular events. These events often come with sponsors, who are also subject to the same editorial separation rules as all other Monitor sponsors and donors.
Our Mission: To strengthen the information landscape of our community and democracy with you
Our Funding: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we rely on a combination of member-donors, major donors, sponsorships, and community partnerships to carry out our mission. A list of donors can be found here.
Operations oversight belongs to our Board of Directors, and more information about the membership of the board can be found above.
Though we rely on (and appreciate!) support from our donors, partners, sponsors, and board members, our supporters do not influence our coverage in any way. We’ve drawn a thick line between our funders and board and our editorial operations, and though we work toward the same mission, we do so separately, in a very intentional way.
Content Sharing: If you or your organization are interested in sharing our content, please contact our publisher at publisher@austinmonitor.com.
Freelancers: At the moment, we rely entirely on freelance reporters to bring you the news, and if you’d like to join our ranks as a freelancer or learn how to join our type of ranks as an intern, reach out to our editor, Liz Pagano, at editor@austinmonitor.com.
Here is our latest IRS 990 filing for 2020
