After just two months as a reporter, Aspen Anderson will be The Beachcomber’s next editor.

She joins a long tradition of women who have led the paper over the past two decades, including Elizabeth Shepherd (2021-2023), Leslie Brown (2006-2013), Natalie Martin (2013-2015), Anneli Fogt (2015-2018) and Susan Riemer (2018-2019), among others.

During her short time on staff, Anderson has leaned into feature reporting — what she calls her “bread and butter.” She launched a new column highlighting active older adults on the island and produced a feature on Backbone Campaign’s protest art, which has received national attention.

She has also covered a wide range of hard news. Her reporting has included fast-turn King County election coverage; a look at the island’s experience under the partial SNAP suspension; an in-depth explanation of proposed ferry fare increases; and a follow-up at McMurray Middle School to see how the “phones away for the day” program is working one year after she first covered the story as an intern.

This fall, while at The Beachcomber, Anderson earned one of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s top honors: first place for News Writer of the Year.

Her stories included examinations of how Granny’s Attic processes and recycles donations; the creative ways islanders expressed support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign; efforts by Quartermaster Yacht Club members to advocate for a new crosswalk on Vashon Highway; and climate-related reporting, including coverage of islanders stranded by catastrophic flooding in North Carolina and a California couple who relocated to Vashon after losing their home to wildfire.

She was nominated for the award by former Beachcomber editor Alex Bruell, who supervised her internship and remained a mentor as she freelanced and later joined the staff.

“Aspen is a hardworking, skilled reporter with great instincts and tenacity,” Bruell said. “She pushed herself to do work that was harder — and better — than I had expected of her as an intern. I have no doubt that she will be a great editor for the paper.”

Before joining the staff full-time, Anderson built a wide-ranging reporting background. She covered the Washington Legislature as a student journalist, reported for the Bangkok Post on LGBTQ+ policy issues, worked as a courts and public safety reporter for The Daily Herald in Everett and spent the summer on the features desk at the Los Angeles Times.

She has also contributed freelance stories to The Seattle Times features section, including several “How-to-Seattle” pieces and Vashon-based features.

Earlier this year, she earned a national Hearst Award for a Cascade PBS feature about Stacy Chapin, the mother of University of Idaho homicide victim Ethan Chapin, exploring grief, memory and the strain of national media attention.

Across these experiences, Anderson said, she has been drawn to local, people-focused reporting — journalism that keeps residents informed, highlights everyday voices and reflects the character of a community.

In returning to The Beachcomber, Anderson said she has reconnected with both the island’s beauty and its endlessly fascinating inhabitants. What she has been reminded of most, she said, is that despite its size, Vashon never runs out of news.

As she prepares to take over the editor’s desk, she said she hopes to continue building a paper that does exactly that.

“I’m grateful for the trust this community places in its local news,” she said. “My goal is to honor that by telling stories that reflect the heart of Vashon.”

At the newspaper, Anderson will helm a staff that includes Shepherd, a long-time Beachcomber reporter and former editor.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Aspen to her new role — an important one in our communty,” Shepherd said. “She has the talent, training, chops and energy to lead our local newspaper into its next chapter.”

Longtime publisher Daralyn Anderson — with whom she shares a last name, though they are not related — said she is also excited about the transition.

“After her internship and her first months as a reporter, it’s clear Aspen is ready for this next step,” she said. “I’m excited to see where she takes the paper.”