Samantha Willis is an award-winning writer and journalist whose experience in digital, print and broadcast media spans 12 years. Her work has appeared in leading publications including Glamour Magazine, Essence Magazine, HuffPost Life, DownBeat Magazine, Scalawag Magazine, and the Columbia Journalism Review, and within a wide range of Virginia-based media. Samantha is currently Editor-in-Chief at the Virginia Mercury, one of the state’s leading nonprofit newsrooms focused on state government and policy.
Previously, Samantha was Deputy and Commentary Editor at The Mercury. Before that, she was Editorial Producer for VPM News Focal Point, a weekly, statewide television news show that she helped launch in February 2022. Before VPM, Samantha held roles as an independent journalist, arts editor at Richmond Magazine, and Digital Content Producer and Manager at ABC 8News.
She is also the co-creator of The Unmasking Series, an anti-racism dialogue and workshop program which has convened four times throughout the state of Virginia: #UnmaskingRVA (Richmond, 2016-17), #UnmaskingCville (Charlottesville, 2018), #UnmaskingHR (South Hampton Roads, 2019), #UnmaskingPeninsula (The Virginia Peninsula/Hampton University, 2021).