Susan Goldberg

Susan Goldberg was the vice dean and a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University, with dual appointments to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the College of Global Futures. She was based in Washington, D.C. and joined the university after working as a journalist and leader across print and digital media for four decades. Before coming to ASU in 2022, Goldberg was Editor in Chief of National Geographic and Editorial Director of National Geographic Partners, where for eight years she led all journalism across platforms, including digital journalism, magazines, podcasts, maps, newsletters and Instagram. She was the 10th editor, and first female editor, of the magazine since it was first published in October 1888.

Under her leadership, National Geographic was honored with 11 National Magazine Awards, including four awards in 2020 and the top prize for General Excellence in 2019. National Geographic was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2021, for Feature Photography in 2019, and for Explanatory Reporting in 2017. In 2021, 2020, and 2018, National Geographic was named the Webby Media Company of the Year, and in 2020 it also earned the Gold Medal as Brand of the Year for the Society of Publication Designers, the most prestigious award for visual journalism. The magazine received hundreds of other awards for photography, storytelling and graphics. Prior to National Geographic, Goldberg led reporting that was honored with multiple local, state and national awards, including the Pulitzer Prize at the San Jose Mercury News (1990/Breaking News), and four finalists for the Pulitzer at The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer (2008/Commentary; 2009/Feature Writing and Commentary; 2010/Commentary).

Before her employment at National Geographic, Goldberg was executive editor for federal, state and local government coverage for Bloomberg News in Washington. From 2007 to 2010, she was editor of The Plain Dealer, the daily newspaper of Cleveland and the largest newspaper in Ohio. Prior to that, from 2003-2007, she was the executive editor of the San Jose Mercury News, and served as the paper’s managing editor from 1999-2003. From 1989 to 1999, Goldberg worked at USA Today, including stints as a deputy managing editor of the News, Life and Enterprise sections. Previously, she worked as a reporter and editor at the Detroit Free Press. She began her career as a reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. A Michigan native, Goldberg has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University, where she now funds the Susan Goldberg Scholarship at the university’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences’ School of Journalism.

In addition to awards for journalism, Goldberg has been recognized repeatedly for leadership. In 2020, she was chosen as the Leadership Honoree by the International Women’s Media Foundation for her work uplifting female journalists and telling under-reported stories. That same year, Goldberg was listed as No. 7 on InStyle magazine’s “Badass 50” list of “women who are changing the world,” and was selected as one of Folio’s Top Women in Media for having an “exceptional impact” on the direction of the industry. Washingtonian magazine put her on its “most powerful” women list in 2017, 2019, and 2021, and she received the Exceptional Woman in Publishing Award from Exceptional Women in Publishing in 2015. She has served and continues to serve on multiple nonprofit boards, including becoming president of the board of the National Museum for Women in the Arts in 2022.

Goldberg has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University. She lives in Alexandria, Va., with her husband, Geoffrey Etnire, a real estate lawyer. They have one grown son.