Evan Smith is a senior advisor at Emerson Collective, working closely with journalists and funders around the country to support the local news ecosystem. He’s also an assistant professor of practice at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches courses on the politics of the election season and media and democracy. He previously spent more than 13 years at The Texas Tribune, which he co-founded and led as CEO, and nearly 18 years at Texas Monthly, including nine years as editor in chief and a year as president. Smith is the host of “Overheard with Evan Smith,” a weekly half-hour interview program that airs on PBS stations. He currently serves on the Karsh Institute of Democracy's Advisory Board, as well as on the boards of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, the Austin Film Society, and the LBJ Foundation. A native of New York, Smith is a graduate of Hamilton College, which awarded him an honorary degree in 2023, and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, which inducted him into its Hall of Achievement in 2006.