He comes to us from the Baltimore Sun, where he covered city government. There, he earned a formidable reputation for using documents and difficult interviews to tell stories of unfair treatment and to hold elected officials to account. His story of a Los Angeles investor buying liens on black churches in Baltimore that had failed to pay a water or electric bill led to legislation banning the practice.
Those same skills produced an investigation of a Baltimore program that was supposed to reduce the number of vacant and blighted lots. After eight years and more than $80 million, Baltimore had gone from 16,800 vacant properties to 16,500. His work on Baltimore’s botched search for a police commissioner showed his ability to own a story.
Ian has a degree in modern history from St. Anne’s College at Oxford and a master’s in journalism and international relations from NYU. He lives in Maryland with his wife and young son and daughter.
Help make him feel welcome when he starts Sept. 23.