Sam Woodward (or ‘Woody’) here.

I’d like to take this space to introduce myself.

I am currently a wellness audience fellow at USA Today producing digital content and maximizing engagement for our youth mental health and women in a caregiving economy coverage. I am also the author of USA Today’s wellness newsletter, Better Yet.

Basically, I make videos, write, manage projects, work with many teams, do performance analysis and meet audiences where they’re at.

I was previously a fellow at USA Today covering the 2024 elections and Gov. Tim Walz’s vice presidential candidacy where I took to national television and radio shows and social media to document the happenings of all things politics.

I began my career in journalism during my freshman year of college at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning the basics of AP Style and cold calling within the confines of my childhood bedroom was not ideal, but I stretched out my reporting limbs following the murder of George Floyd. I learned how to file stories while freezing with protestors in the Minnesota cold and chasing down lawyers while covering Derek Chauvin’s trial as a second year.

My reporting and audience work has ranged from everything from breaking news on civil unrest, in-depth, investigations, and business to national and local politics. I’ve worked across social media, print, digital, television, and radio platforms and focus on creating audience-focused, transparent news that seeks to connect and create better understanding of the world around us.

When I’m not writing or doom scrolling, I like to bake, read, and travel. I take pride in being the eldest daughter, a born and raised Midwesterner and Mamma Mia (2008) super fan.

Feel free to reach out. I, like all writers, am always looking for reasons to get coffee.

All the best,

Woody

My current position is funded by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.