Charlottesville Tomorrow housing reporter to speak at a panel on news and nonprofits in Virginia

Charlottesville Tomorrow is proud to be a leader in nonprofit, local news. Our newsroom staff often presents on community-driven journalism at national, statewide and local events. In 2025, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Angilee Shah and Product and Technology Director Ashley Harper spoke at national conferences about focusing on community impact rather than chasing audience traffic or “clicks.”

This Thursday, May 21, Neighborhoods Reporter Erin O’Hare will be speaking at “Who’s telling your story?”, a conversation sponsored by the Virginia Local News Project, an initiative of the Virginia Press Association. 

In her role, O’Hare covers housing and affordability, public resources like transportation and parks, and local history. She has been reporting in Charlottesville for the last 15 years, five of them with Charlottesville Tomorrow. O’Hare will speak on a panel with Shayla Washington, the executive director of Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless (BRACH), who invited her to participate as a local news reporter who prioritizes engaging nonprofit and community-based organizations.

As part of her reporting, O’Hare often speaks with leaders at housing organizations to keep a pulse on news related to affordability and homelessness, including Washington.

“There’s so much misinformation about homelessness, specifically,” said O’Hare. She said that speaking with leaders of organizations that serve unhoused community members — and with those actually experiencing homelessness — paints a fuller picture of what’s going on and promotes a nuanced understanding of the issue that avoids perpetuating myths or stoking inflammatory rhetoric.

Take action

Come hear from reporter Erin O’Hare on Thursday, May 21.

Attend “Who’s telling your story?,” a panel conversation with news and nonprofit leaders on Thursday, May 21 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Libbie Mill Library at 2100 Libbie Lake East Street, Henrico, Virginia 23230. The event is sponsored by the Virginia Local News Project. It is free of cost and you can RSVP at this link.

“One of my goals when I began working for BRACH was to increase the visibility of the work we’re doing for the homeless Continuum of Care,” said Washington. (The Continuum of Care refers to cross-organizational coordination among service providers addressing homelessness across the region.) “I’m excited for this panel to discuss our collaboration, because it’s so important to highlight in a world full of noise and misinformation.”. 

Washington recently spoke at the annual “state of homelessness” presentation to Charlottesville City Council on May 5, which O’Hare covered for Charlottesville Tomorrow. 

“We don’t report on the community, rather, we report for and, perhaps most importantly, with them. I am constantly learning from people like Shayla about what’s going on in our area,” said O’Hare. “I’m able to share that knowledge with the broader community only because these folks give me their time. My byline might be on an article, but community members’ voices and experiences make the article what it is.”

The upcoming conversation “brings journalists and nonprofit leaders into the same room for a candid conversation about how stories get picked up, what makes something newsworthy, and how to build stronger relationships with local media,” according to the event webpage. On Facebook, organizers describe the panel as a “discussion on how local media and nonprofits can work together to elevate important community stories.”

In 2025, O’Hare received the Institute for Nonprofit News Breaking Barriers Award for her reporting on housing access in the Charlottesville area, including her coverage of Carlton Mobile Home Park, the Cavalier Crossing complex and Midway Manor apartments. 

In 2024, O’Hare and democracy editor Jessie Higgins were recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists Washington D.C. chapter for their coverage of the Market Street Park encampment and our community’s understanding of housing insecurity. O’Hare has also received numerous Virginia Press Association awards, including First Place in Government Writing across all news categories in 2022.

O’Hare was also central to creating the Charlottesville and Albemarle County Housing Resources Guide in partnership with over 50 representatives from community organizations. The Guide was released in February 2025. Advocates and community members can use the guide to get information about private and public programs, financial assistance and other resources related to housing.

In addition to O’Hare and Washington, the panel will include news and nonprofit leaders Tom Lappas, the founder, publisher and editor of Henrico Citizen; Michael Phillips, founding editor of The Richmonder; Encarnacion Pyle, executive editor and Virginia state editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch; Mary Dunne Stewart, president and CEO of Greater Richmond Fit4Kids; and Samantha Willis, editor-in-chief of Virginia Mercury. The conversation will be moderated by Betsy Edwards, executive director of the Virginia Local News Project. 

The Virginia Local News Project, formerly the Virginia Press Foundation, is a project of Virginia Press Association. Charlottesville Tomorrow is a member of the Virginia Press Association.