James Burnett

As managing director, James leads impact strategy and fundraising for Trace Media and oversees the organization’s expansion and development. He was The Trace’s founding editor, setting coverage priorities and recruiting the first members of the newsroom. James’s experience in media leadership includes tenures as editor-in-chief of Boston magazine, enterprise editor for AOL News, news editor for New York magazine, and story editor for The New Republic. He has shared a National Magazine Award for single-topic coverage, and five individuals he has coached have been named finalists for the Livingston Awards for young journalists. James attended Duke University, where he majored in public policy.