About & Contact
My career path has not been linear, and I believe that's an asset. I started out as a journalist, reporting for daily newspapers in Vermont right as digital publishing was remaking how information moves through the world. I've spent the years since figuring out how to work with that change rather than against it — growing audiences, building revenue, and helping organizations find their footing when the ground keeps shifting.
Most of my career has been in places where the resources were never quite enough. That turns out to be good training. You learn to be creative with what you have and to keep moving when the path forward isn't obvious.
"We learned so much from our time working with Sky. I would trust her counsel and support to build any journalism business. She works quickly, with a smile, and building on her incredible track record as a serial media leader. I highly recommend working with Sky."
After working as a writer and editor, I bought Vermont Sports Magazine with no business experience, and discovered I had a knack for news and magazine publishing. My editorial focus was making outdoor sports more inclusive and widening the audience to reach more readers new to the outdoors or fitness. I improved the print quality and grew circulation 60% and sold it in 2013 with a sustainable operating model.
At Vermont Life, I wrote dozens of features about ... life in Vermont! I also helped produce a gift product catalogue, printed wall calendars, and launched the iconic brand's first social media channels (when those were a novelty), produced an e-newsletter, and project managed the launch of the digital version of the magazine and digital subscriptions. Vermont Life was an editorially independent project of the State of Vermont, which gave me experience navigating procurement, contracting, and HR processes in state government.
At Chalkbeat, one of the country's largest nonprofit news organizations, I led the sponsorship and advertising program from roughly $400,000 to $1 million, with partners including the Bezos Family Foundation, Duolingo, and Penguin Random House.
At VTDigger, I was recruited to lead the organization after the founder stepped down and a period of interim leadership. Over three years the organization strengthened its financial footing, grew revenue every year, expanded readership across the state, and modernized systems — HR, finance, analytics, fundraising infrastructure. We won dozens of journalism awards along the way, and shortly after my tenure, VTDigger was named one of just 11 (out of 440) audited news organizations to achieve LION Publisher's highest maturity rating, "Sustaining." I also negotiated the organization's second union contract, which I'm proud to say raised reporter salary minimums by more than 30%.
Reach out today
I've had a parallel career in wellness. I'm a certified yoga teacher, Barre Above instructor, and have led hundreds (maybe a thousand?) studio cycle and strength training classes, including corporate and team-building sessions. In 2018, I bought a group exercise studio, rebuilt it and rebranded it as Alpenglow Fitness, and carried it through a pandemic and a flood before selling it to an instructor who's still running it for the amazing Alpenglow community. I ran marketing, payroll, facilities, pricing, retention, and all our digital assets — website, newsletter, and marketing automation. It was a more complicated business than people assume, and I'm immensely proud of it.
I'd rather solve a problem than sit in a long planning meeting. I think the best work happens when strategy and execution stay close together. When I work with an organization, I'm bringing the perspective of someone who has owned the P&L, made payroll, grown revenue, led teams, and made hard calls.
I use AI tools, including Claude and ChatGPT, in my work, for research, drafting, and editing, including some of the writing on this site. I don't use them to generate facts.
I serve on the boards of Journalism New England, a lean and effective journalism support organization serving publishers in the Northeast, and Aspire Living & Learning, a human services agency serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities from Maryland to New Hampshire — in honor of my late brother Shane, who had significant physical and intellectual disabilities.
I'm a people person with a good sense of humor and a firm belief that most problems — including civic polarization — have a solution worth finding.
I also like dogs and New Haven pizza.
Get in touch: mail@skybarsch.com | (802) 279-0077