Versha Rani Sharma (born c. 1986) is an American journalist and editor. She is editor in chief of ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

.'' From 2015 to 2021 she was managing editor at

NowThis NowThis Media is an American progressive social media-focused media organization founded in 2012. The company specializes in creating short-form videos. Their target audience are Gen Z and Millennials. History NowThis was founded by ''Huff ...

, where she shared in a 2018 Edward R. Murrow Award for a documentary on

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

's effects on

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. She is on the board of the

Online News Association The Online News Association (ONA), founded in 1999, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of digital journalists headquartered in Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., United States. The founding members first convened in December 1999 in Chicago. ...

Early life

Sharma was born and raised in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...

, the daughter of Indian immigrants. She attended Bolton High School, graduating in 2004, then

Centenary College of Louisiana Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi Rive ...

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, where she studied political science. She graduated in 2008, then worked on

Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for president of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 2008, ...

Journalism career

Sharma began working in newsmedia as a writer and editor for

Talking Points Memo ''Talking Points Memo'' (''TPM'') is a liberal political news and opinion blog created and run by Josh Marshall that debuted on November 12, 2000. The name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a "talking points memo" that was often discussed duri ...

and

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

's Lean Forward. She covered the

2012 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...

for MSNBC's website. In 2015, she became managing editor at

, where she shared in a 2018 Edward R. Murrow Award for her work on a documentary on

's effects on

. "Puerto Rico: After the Hurricane" won for Excellence in Video in the Large Digital News Organization division. In May 2021, she was named editor in chief of ''

''. In assuming the role at

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

, Sharma was part of an increase in women's newsroom leadership; '' Adweek'' noted she was one of "a dozen women…named editors in chief at some of the most influential publishers in the world" in 2021.

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

also noted her appointment as part of diversifying newsroom leadership that took place in 2021, as she became the first South Asian American to hold the role, and additionally discussed the growing expectations for change to newsroom culture, beyond the new heads. Sharma told CNN that concern for the state of her team was a management priority for her, saying, "I pride myself on being a leader with empathy. Despite the fact that our job is storytelling, a lot of newsroom leaders don't value that or prioritize that." Sharma is also a member of the board of the

Personal life

Sharma has lived in New York since 2009. She is married to journalist and author Casey Michel. They have a golden retriever named George.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Versha Living people American magazine editors Condé Nast people Journalists from Louisiana Centenary College of Louisiana alumni American women journalists Year of birth missing (living people) American people of Indian descent