USA Today names new Money editor, hires deputy Money editor

USA Today editor Patty Michalski sent out the following announcement on Friday:

All,

We are excited to announce some moves taking place in the Money team.

First, interim Money editor Philana Patterson has one less word in her title. Effective immediately, she is, simply, Money editor. During the past year, Philana has led the team through a period of transition, maintaining aggressive digital coverage on markets and breaking news while developing a plan for enterprise designed to resonate with our key audience targets. And she’s done so while managing around several open positions, which brings us to …

David Brinkerhoff joins USA TODAY’s Money team on Monday, Feb. 27 as deputy Money editor in New York. David’s duties will include overseeing financial and other coverage across formats and he will work closely with Philana to roll out new strategic initiatives. David spent the past 18 months as a staff editor and web producer at The New York Times. Most recently, he was an editor on the combined Metro and Business desks, handling breaking news, columns, and front-page political stories. Before The Times, he spent eight years at The Associated Press, leading coverage of the stock market rebound and auto industry resurgence. David is a graduate of the University of Chicago. David lives in northern New Jersey with his wife, Ronda Kaysen, a columnist for The Times, and their two children. He grew up in Massachusetts and loves chowder, Cape Cod and the Red Sox (in that order).

Zlati Meyer joins USA TODAY’s Money team on Monday, March 6 as a consumer reporter in New York. Zlati’s primary focus will be on consumer news and trends, with an emphasis on restaurants, supermarkets, food and beverage products, producers and manufacturers, as well as consumer watchdog issues. Zlati will work closely with Charisse Jones, who has been covering the full retail and consumer beat since early fall. Charisse will continue covering retailers and will resume covering workplace and career, a new beat she had taken on in the summer. For close to 14 years, Zlati has been a reporter at the Detroit Free Press, first on the Metro Desk and then on the Business desk, covering automotive suppliers, agriculture and most recently, consumer watchdog. Before that, the Boston native worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Staten Island Advance and UPI’s New York City bureau and freelanced for numerous publications. Meyer is married and has 18-month-old son; her now-husband proposed in the Free Press newsroom. She enjoys reading, traveling and hunting for the perfect tuna melt.

Please join us in congratulating Philana and welcoming David and Zlati.