The Atlantic has hired Jessica Goldstein as senior vice president of events, who will work in partnership with managing director for events Evan Smith to lead and produce the magazine’s robust live programs nationwide. She begins with The Atlantic in early September.

Jessica has spent her career telling stories through reporting and creating live experiences that resonate far beyond the stage. She spent eight years creating and leading NPR’s live cultural programming, including creating the Tiny Desk Contest, NPR’s annual search for new musical talent, and the How I Built This Summit. She most recently led the Skoll Foundation’s global convenings strategy and directed the Skoll World Forum.

At The Atlantic, she will work with Evan to lead one of the most influential and long-running events practices in media. The Atlantic convenes dozens of annual in-person and virtual events that reach thousands of people every year, anchored by its flagship event, The Atlantic Festival, which returns to New York City September 17–19, after being held for nearly two decades in Washington, D.C. The Atlantic is also under way with a new 50-state tour, The Atlantic Across America, that has already held events in 10 states, addressing some of the most complex issues of our time.

Below is Evan Smith’s announcement to staff:

I’m excited to let you know that we’ve hired the amazing Jessica Goldstein as our new senior vice president of events. As the second-in-command on our growing team, she’ll oversee the operations, planning, and execution of our robust public programs, working closely with our sales, marketing, design, and CSG colleagues to grow The Atlantic’s audience and revenue; shine a great, big light on our brand; and—most crucially—bring our journalists and our journalism to stages from coast to coast through The Atlantic Festival, The Atlantic Across America, The Atlantic Summits, and so much more.

Jessica comes to us most recently from the Skoll Foundation, where she was managing director of convenings, leading the organization’s global events strategy and directing the Skoll World Forum, a weeklong gathering of heads of state, social entrepreneurs, and civil-society partners. But it’s her reputation at NPR that really precedes her—and makes her the ideal hire in this moment. As senior director and executive producer of Events & Experiential, she spent eight years creating and leading NPR’s live programming, including the Tiny Desk Contest and the How I Built This Summit. Previously she was a senior supervising producer for NPR Music, a senior producer on the science desk, and a producer of audio documentaries known as NPR Radio Expeditions. A native of New York, Jessica is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Jessica believes in the power of storytelling, of sharing ideas and sparking inspiration, which is precisely how we think about our work in the events space. There is no loftier task before us than getting people from divergent backgrounds—great minds who don’t think alike—in a room to listen and talk and continue the conversation after we’re gone. She will bring to bear her decades of experience, her imagination, her creativity, her calm, and her charisma as we expand the ambitious work of the Live team.

Press Contacts: Anna Bross and Paul Jackson | press@theatlantic.com