Tara Francis Chan, an accomplished journalist and nonprofit newsroom leader, has joined The Trace as director of operations.
In her role, Francis Chan will oversee The Trace’s organizational development, and its culture, finance, and human resource systems. She will work closely with managing director James Burnett to develop and implement policies across the organization to strengthen its impact, resilience, and sustainability.
Francis Chan comes to The Trace after four years as co-executive leader of The Appeal, a nonprofit newsroom where she led operational and editorial strategy. In that role, she edited award-winning investigations and helped develop the organization’s unique worker-led structure. She has worked for national and international publications including Newsweek, Business Insider, and a leading Australian features magazine, where she was a finalist for Young Australian Journalist of the Year.
“I’m thrilled to join the incredible team at The Trace, whom I have admired for so long and who have produced such powerful journalism on gun violence,” Francis Chan said. “More than that, they’ve built the type of healthy, supportive culture that newsrooms need to tell such critical stories. I’m so excited to come alongside and strengthen these efforts while growing our organizational capabilities to enable The Trace to step boldly into its second decade.”
Assistant Engagement Editor and Editing Fellow Join The Trace’s Growing Newsroom
Victoria Clark joined as The Trace’s assistant engagement editor in November. In her first few months, Clark has become an integral part of the newsroom’s everyday operations, writing social media copy and newsletters, leading the organization’s foray into social video, and helping to plan and implement creative strategies for The Trace to more deeply connect with its audience.
“Victoria is one of those people who can kind of do everything,” said senior editor Sunny Sone, who leads The Trace’s audience and engagement work. “Her ideas and tenacity have already elevated our work and enabled us to become more ambitious about how we connect with The Trace’s expanding community.”
Clark was previously an audience engagement fellow at The 19th News. She graduated in 2021 from Xavier University of Louisiana, where she studied mass communication and creative writing.
The Trace’s new editing fellow is Tatyana Turner, who joined the newsroom in March. She will work closely with editors across the newsroom, honing her skills in framing stories, improving their structure, and most importantly, learning how to make stories water tight and easy to read.
Turner comes to The Trace from City Limits, where she was a reporter covering New York City’s Housing Authority. Before that, she worked on the breaking news desk at the Chicago Tribune, and prior to that she was a Report for America fellow at the Baltimore Sun.
“Tatyana’s background in breaking news and beat reporting makes her an ideal candidate for this role,” said Samantha Storey, The Trace’s managing editor. “She knows what it takes to pitch a story and get sources on the record. Now she’ll learn how to build on those skills, helping assign, edit, and polish her colleagues’ work.”
Turner graduated from Temple University and holds a Master of Science from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
The Trace’s editing fellowship is made possible by the generous support of The Tow Foundation. Here’s where to read more about our editorial independence and donor transparency policies.