Floodlight names Rosie Gillies to lead audience and partnership strategy

Floodlight is pleased to announce the hiring of our first-ever audience director to expand the number and type of people who see our work and to deepen audience engagement.

Rosie Gillies most recently was the audience engagement editor at Bolts, a nonprofit news outlet that covers criminal justice, policing, voting rights and democracy. She will join Floodlight Tuesday, March 25. In her new role, Gillies will design and oversee a multiyear growth strategy to expand Floodlight’s audience through direct channels and publishing partnerships.

This position will help Floodlight understand and define our audiences and target them. We seek to broaden and deepen our connections with readers, listeners and viewers by promoting our journalism across mediums and with a wide range of outlets.

Gillies also will manage Floodlight’s website and social media channels and strengthen partnerships with other news outlets. In 2024, Floodlight stories were republished by more than 60 outlets.

“Rosie’s creativity and skills will help us make the most out of all of Floodlight’s impactful accountability reporting, reaching as many people as possible with stories that stick in their minds,” said Emily Holden, Floodlight founder and executive director.

While working for Bolts, Gillies developed and executed outreach plans for stories and managed the outlet’s journalistic collaborations with other outlets. Prior to working for Bolts, Gillies worked for the Boston Review, a nonprofit political and literary forum, where she managed its communications department.

In her “former life,” Gillies was an art teacher at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Harvard Art Museums. During those jobs, she realized she craved a more extended relationship with people coming into the museum — an epiphany that led her to pursue a career in journalism and audience engagement. 

Daniel Petty, director of audience strategy for ProPublica, was Gillies’ coach in a sustainability lab for newsrooms launched by Google News Initiative and LION Publishers. Petty said Gillies was eager to learn more about readers and to meet their needs. “I was just always impressed with her drive and her follow-through,” Petty said.

Gillies also has worked as a freelance audio editor and producer. She was a producer on the People’s History podcast by Jacobin magazine. 

Gillies holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an undergraduate degree in art history from the University of Cambridge (UK).

“Floodlight’s commitment to investigating the forces that stall climate action and environmental justice is deeply inspiring,” Gillies said. “I’m thrilled to join a newsroom that prioritizes accountability and impact, and I can’t wait to help expand its reach to ensure these vital stories get in front of the people who need them most.”

Floodlight is a nonprofit, independent newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action.