Whoop! Kelly Brown '89 named Eagle editor

Thank you to Scot Walker '90 and Bob Wegener for alerting me. So happy for Kelly! Most of y'all know her, probably because she helped you/taught you/hired you. She is amazing, a really good person, a consummate journalist and a bottomless font of energy and good cheer. She actually is one of my (few) heroes -- she will swat me on the head for saying that, but it's true. HURRAH for Kelly!

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Scot Walker"

Subject: Kelly Brown named Eagle editor

http://www.theeagle.com/local/Brown-named-Eagle-s-editor

Eagle Staff Report

Longtime Eagle staffer Kelly Brown has been named editor of the newspaper.

She will replace Donnis Baggett, who will become publisher of the Waco Tribune-Herald at the beginning of June.

Publisher Jim Wilson made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.

"I am very excited to have her join our senior management team and look forward to the energy and ideas she brings to the table," he said.

Brown, 43, has served as the managing editor of The Eagle since 2001 and is the first woman to be the paper's editor.

"The Eagle is consistently recognized throughout Texas and across the country as one of the finest newspapers of its size," Brown said. "I'm excited about continuing that tradition, while increasing The Eagle's multimedia offerings."

That Brown already knows her staff and community should make the transition smooth, she said.

"Working with journalists who are passionate about their jobs makes it very easy to go to the newsroom each day," Brown said. "Too, I've been a part of this community for the better part of more than 20 years."

The 1989 Texas A&M graduate has covered courts, police and politics locally, as well as education, business, higher education and communities in north Dallas earlier in her career. She's also been a city editor and for two years was a private investigator.

She has served on a Journalism Studies Advisory Board at Texas A&M, where she was appointed to teach as a journalist-in-residence five years ago.

Brown has won more than 15 journalism awards, including four from the prestigious Headliners Press Club in Austin. She has led The Eaglenewsroom to more than 30 awards in the past five years.

She is the outgoing president of the Texas AP Managing Editors and has been active in other press organizations, including as president of the Brazos Valley Society of Professional Journalists.

Brown is on the advisory board of the Sexual Assault Resource Center after rotating off the board of directors following 11 years of service. She's also been on the board of directors for the Junior Achievement and was a HOST volunteer in the Bryan schools.