When I came to the Monitor in 2013, I was immediately impressed by Amelia Newcomb. Her poise and candor were unparalleled, and the gentle but firm way that she steered her team was inspiring. But nothing prepared me for the day that I discovered what Amelia is truly made of.
On Jan. 16, 2016, the newsroom learned, along with the rest of the world, that Amelia’s son, Matt Trevithick, had just been released from an Iranian prison. Matt had been detained while studying Farsi in Tehran and held for 40 days. In the background, Amelia had been working to secure his release. But at work, she continued to bring her usual dedication, focus, and encouraging cheer.
“She showed the same calm strength through the kidnapping of Monitor freelancer Jill Carroll by Iraqi insurgents a decade earlier,” recalls Editor Christa Case Bryant, who as a junior staffer watched Amelia’s unflappable care for Jill’s family during her 82-day captivity.
Over the years, I’ve come to learn this is simply who Amelia is – graceful, steadfast, and ever-devoted to the Monitor.
This spring, after more than 30 years at the Monitor, Amelia will be retiring. Her mark on this publication and its staff will linger far longer.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone who loves the Monitor more than Amelia,” says Mark Sappenfield, who enlisted her as managing editor when he began his stint as editor in 2017. “When you’re working with someone like that, that can be very fortifying.”
Back then, Amelia was often the only female leader in the room. As such, she made a point of elevating the work and careers of other women. At the same time, she became an advocate for everyone on staff.
Ken Kaplan, our Middle East editor, describes her as an “everything editor” in a note about her influence. He credits her with “dealing with our mission, our daily functioning, our philosophy, personnel decisions, the daily care and feeding of the staff (literally, with cookies), and jumping into the hurly-burly of headlines and edits, all while maintaining a professional persona that balanced steely resolve with warm nurturing.”
She has mentored countless staffers. “I just feel like every time I interact with Amelia I learn something, whether it’s in a passing conversation or as she’s leading a meeting,” says Sophie Hills, an early-career reporter who covers religion.
One of the reasons it’s so easy to learn from Amelia is just how much she loves learning herself. Her insatiable curiosity makes her a shrewd editor with impeccable news judgment. “She seems to know about everything happening in the world,” says Sara Miller Llana, the Monitor’s deputy international news editor.
That curiosity has also made her a compassionate and engaged boss. “I feel like Amelia is such a natural mentor,” says Lindsey McGinnis, the Monitor’s Asia editor. As the youngest editor on an international desk staffed by veteran journalists, Lindsey was a bit intimidated to join the team. But from the start, she felt that she had an ally in Amelia.
“She’s just so approachable, so knowledgeable, so intelligent about the world and about journalism, but not in a way that makes you scared to ask her a question,” Lindsey says. “What a privilege to have had this very practical, insightful, career-focused professional guidance.”
So many of us agree.
This column first appeared in the March 31, 2025, issue of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly. Subscribe today to receive future issues of the Monitor Weekly magazine delivered to your home.
