As we begin a new year, I’m excited to announce a great addition to our Noozhawk news team.

Evelyn Spence is coming on board as our South County Editor, responsible for helping guide our news coverage in the southern half of Santa Barbara County.

Evelyn comes to Noozhawk from the Coastal View News in Carpinteria, where she has served as managing editor, and assistant editor and contributor before that.

Evelyn will join executive editor Giana Magnoli and North County editor Janene Scully in overseeing the day-to-day operations of Noozhawk’s news operations.

Like all news team staff members, Evelyn also will serve as a reporter and photographer while helping mentor our staff writers.

Evelyn got her start in journalism in high school, owing to a “love of reading and writing.”

A UC Santa Barbara graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in the professional writing journalism track, she cut her teeth at The Daily Nexus campus newspaper, where she served as managing editor, among many other roles.

She has received numerous awards for her journalistic work and service to the community.

Evelyn is a board member of the Association for Women in Communications’ Santa Barbara chapter, and has contributed to several local publications, including Noozhawk, while at UCSB.

In her free time, Evelyn spends a lot of time outdoors training her high-energy Labrador-mix Violet, “soaking in all the nature the county has to offer.”

“I am very excited to join Noozhawk as the South County editor,” Evelyn told me. “I’ve been an avid Noozhawk reader since I came to the area as a college student in 2017, and I’ve long admired the hardworking staff and commitment to local, timely journalism …

“To Noozhawk, I will bring my years of reporting experience and commitment to local, community-based journalism.”

I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Evelyn join our team at Noozhawk. She has done a great job at the Coastal View News, helping to make it a fine example of what a community weekly newspaper should be.

We’re confident her knowledge of Carpinteria — and really the entire South Coast — will be a true asset to our organization, and a great benefit to our readers.

Evelyn’s first day will be Monday. She can be reached at espence@noozhawk.com.