Forthcoming D.C. news startup announces new hires

An upcoming D.C. publication from Laura McGann, former politics editor of Vox.com and Politico, and Mark Bauman, previously with ABC News, has announced a number of new hires.

Justin Rood has joined as investigations editor. He comes from Insider, where he was an investigative correspondent. He has also worked at ABC News, TPM Media LLC and CQ Roll Call. Rood graduated from Pitzer College.

Dave Levitan has joined as a science and climate reporter. Levitan also works freelance, his work appearing in the Washington Post, Wired, the Scientific American, Slate, the Daily Beast, Gizmodo, and many others. Levitan graduated from New York University.

Maggie Severns has joined as policy reporter. She comes from Politico, where she was a reporter. She has also worked at New America. Severns graduated from Dartmouth College.

Serena Golden has been named special projects editor. Previously, she was a Planet Money intern at NPR. She has also interned at Georgia Public Broadcasting. Golden graduated from Aarhus University.

Jason Paladino joins as an investigative reporter. Previously, he held the same post at Project On Government Oversight. He has also worked at Investigative Reporting Program, BBC News, and Oakland North. Paladino graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.

Matthew Zeitlin has been named domestic economics reporter. Zeitlin was working freelance as a business and economics journalist for Vox, The Nation, n+1, Barron’s, Business Insider, and OneZero. He has also worked at Slate, BuzzFeed, Newsweek, and The Daily Beast. Zeitlin graduated from Northwestern University.

Kaila Philo joins as government and political institutions reporter. Previously, she was a reporter at Courthouse News Service.

Anya van Wagtendonk has been appointed misinformation reporter. She comes from Vox.com, where she was a politics/policy writer and editor. She has also freelanced for The Washington Post, Politico Magazine, Vox, Village Voice, DCist, and others. Wagtendonk graduated from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

Benjamin Powers joins as a tech reporter, covering AI, bias, privacy and big data with a focus on intersectionality. Previously, he was a privacy reporter at CoinDesk. He has also freelanced for the Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, New Republic, Pacific Standard, CityLab, Smithsonian, Playboy, and Paste Magazine, among others. Powers graduated from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.