Maira Garcia is the keynote speaker for the 2017 jSTL Spring Conference. She is the digital news editor for the culture department at The New York Times. She serves as a planning editor for daily web coverage and major news events, and oversees the department’s digital workflow and its social media. She joined The Times in 2012.

“The conference is always a tremendous learning opportunity for our students and we are so pleased that Maira is able to join us this year and share her first-hand experience as a professional journalist,” said Travis Armknecht, journalismSTL treasurer.

Prior to The Times, Maira was the social media editor at the Austin American-Statesman, where she managed the newspaper’s social media accounts and developed strategies for social reporting and for audience growth. She has also worked at a local news startup, a publishing company and as a contributor to MTV’s 2008 Choose or Lose election coverage.

Maira graduated from Texas State University with an M.A. in new media and a B.A. in print journalism and political science.