Emily Swelgin

Emily Swelgin is the Director of Product at The 19th. Emily has over eight years of experience in user experience design, content strategy and multimedia production.

Swelgin began their career as a Content Strategist and Multimedia Producer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In this role, they created digital content and strategies for the newspaper's website. Emily also produced multimedia features, including video and audio stories.

In 2014, Swelgin moved to The Washington Post, where they worked as an Interaction Designer. In this role, they designed elegant and practical solutions for users to manage their accounts online. Emily also created a framework for writing user-centered product requirements.

In 2018, Swelgin joined The Texas Tribune as their User Experience Director. In this role, they grew the user research practice and collaborated with editorial, art, and engineering teams to implement user-driven design across products. Emily led user interviews and usability testing for multiple products, including a user management portal, sponsored content, government salaries explorer, and Teach Me How to Texas.

Teach Me How to Texas is a series newsletter written to empower Texans to engage in politics and policy for the first time. Swelgin pitched and led the development of this newsletter.

Swelgin has collaborated with engineering to develop a new system for engagement on story pages, balancing the needs of editorial, engineering, and revenue.

Emily Swelgin's educational career began with a Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia and Graphic Design from UNC School of Media and Journalism. Emily then went on to earn their B.A. Journalism and Mass Communication from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Emily Swelgin reports to Emily Ramshaw, Co-Founder & CEO. They are on a team with Anne Musial - Director, Foundation Philanthropy, Faith Smith - Senior Director, Events, and Amanda Zamora - Co-Founder & Publisher.