Washington Post hires WSJ’s Van Dam

We’re excited to announce that Andrew Van Dam will join Wonkblog to write about economics and policy through the lens of data and graphics.

Andrew is a data visualization reporter at the Wall Street Journal, where he has worked for five years. He started as an infographic designer in New York before coming to Washington 2 ½ years ago to write economics stories using data and visualization. He has done compelling stories and award-winning graphics about employment trends, socioeconomic disparities, trade and the global economy, politics and “the coming extinction of the video store clerk.”

A self-described “scrappy goofball from Idaho,” Andrew taught himself several key programming languages and is skilled in design, data analysis and cartography.

Before the Journal, Andrew worked at The Boston Globe, WGBH Boston, the Idaho-Press Tribune, among other places. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma and got his masters from the University of Missouri, where he studied computer-assisted reporting and data visualization. He and his wife live in Bethesda.

Andrew will start Nov. 20. Please welcome him when he arrives.