A New Role for Vanessa Mobley in Opinion

I'm excited to announce a new role for Vanessa Mobley. Over the past two and a half years, Vanessa has demonstrated her exceptional talents as an editor. With her encyclopedic knowledge of experts, her brilliance for framing an argument and her unparalleled work ethic, she has transformed Opinion's guest essay team into the strong, ambitious operation it is today.

Where Vanessa truly excels is in her close work with writers. She has commissioned and edited so many distinctive voices that the list is far too long to do justice in one note, but this quick sampling shows the range and depth of her work as a thought leader: Michael Eric Dyson, Jamie Raskin, Justin Driver, Lauren Hough, Darren Walker, Mary Pilon, Danté Stewart, Steven Rattner, Donna Brazile, James Kirchick, Naftali Bennett, Matthew Dallek, Mary Gabriel, Chris Sununu and Roxane Gay. Over and over during her tenure in Opinion, I have received notes of gratitude, honor and awe from both the external and internal authors of essays that Vanessa has helped craft. "Vanessa gave me the confidence, courage and intelligence to say exactly what needed to be said," one guest essayist told me. "She is simply the best."

Any editor who can elicit such praise from a writer has mighty talent, and I'd like to build on Vanessa's abilities in new ways for our department's benefit. I've asked Vanessa to work directly with me in our efforts to source, recruit and edit more big-name, high-profile writers for guest essays, and to assist me in looking around the bend for the experts and experiences we must have in our pages. She will help us bring in the must-have book excerpts, maintain our contributing writer lists and consider how we might expand our amazing columnist roster. She will also continue to edit several of Opinion's signature voices.

It's a new role for the department - Vanessa's title will be senior editor - and one that I have long wanted. I see it as a great opportunity to elevate Opinion's aspirations even further.

In the guest essay world, Lauren Kelley and Laura Reston will run the day-to-day and enterprise coverage, reporting to and working directly with Matthew Rose. Both Lauren and Laura are strong and creative editors and thought partners who have shown themselves to be steady and impactful leaders during intense and unpredictable news cycles. They are a testament to the depth of leadership the department now has, and to the team Vanessa has built. I couldn't be more confident that it will be in fantastic hands going forward.

Vanessa will start her new position on Monday, Sept. 9. Please join me in congratulating her.