Award-winning investigative journalist will lead The Tributary’s newsroom and expand the organization’s impact

Nate Monroe (Provided photo / Yazi Davis)

This is an exciting day for The Tributary: I am thrilled to share the news that Nate Monroe will join our staff as Executive Editor next week. 

Many of you are already familiar with Nate’s work. He has been a beat reporter, investigative reporter, and columnist at newspapers in the Southeast for the past 15 years, most recently as a columnist for the USA Today Network across Florida. His commitment to holding power accountable and telling important stories that matter to our communities aligns perfectly with The Tributary’s mission.

“A nonprofit journalism project dedicated to shining a light on every corner of the state is essential for Florida’s civic culture,” he said. “I’m excited to increase the journalism that The Tributary publishes — deeply reported, closely edited, and professionally executed —  and get it in front of more people than ever.”

In Jacksonville, Nate is perhaps best known for his work as part of a team of Times-Union reporters who scrutinized the JEA privatization scandal, work that is credited with helping to halt the effort, prompting voter-led reforms, and launching a federal investigation into the controversy. In partnership with reporters at the Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight, an investigative newsroom, Nate also broke news, based on leaked documents, that consultants working for one of the largest electric companies in the nation conducted surveillance on him and tampered with Florida democracy through questionable campaign-finance tactics in local elections.

He was part of a team in 2016 that uncovered a sham charity with ties to former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, which was ultimately the centerpiece of a federal indictment and later her conviction on fraud and tax crimes. He and a colleague also produced a groundbreaking investigation into the flood risks associated with deep dredging of the St. Johns River over the past century. 

These are exactly the kind of stories that showcase why news in the public interest matters — and why it’s so important that we champion this cause. I can’t wait to see Nate work with senior reporter Nichole Manna, special projects editor Casey Frank, and other talented journalists to accelerate The Tributary’s impact. Nate’s achievements, but also his track record of collaboration with and recognition by his peers, are a testament to his leadership. 

His past work has won numerous awards, including a national Sigma Delta Chi award for column writing in 2020 from the Society of Professional Journalists. His columns regularly win top honors in state journalism contests, most recently in the 2024 Florida Society of News Editors awards. In 2022, he was a co-recipient of the Frances DeVore Award for Public Service and the Lucy Morgan Award for In-Depth Reporting from the Florida Press Club — its two highest honors. In 2018 he was named the Sunshine State Awards reporter of the year for the state of Florida for stories on Hurricane Irma, city politics and public corruption. Other recognition includes first place in the Sunshine State Awards for commentary, government reporting; co-recipient of the 2017 Integrity Florida Award for Public Corruption Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Florida chapter; and a co-recipient of the Florida Press Club’s Freedom of Information Award in 2016.

As our Board Chair, Ashley Smith Juarez, put it: “Nonprofit news is essential to the future of an informed public. It provides broad access to information for communities to learn about what’s happening and act on things that matter. Local and state news is a public good, and Nate is the perfect choice to lead our newsroom.”

Deirdre Conner is The Tributary’s Publisher & CEO. You can reach her at deirdre.conner@floridatrib.org.

Deirdre Conner is CEO & Publisher of The Tributary. Prior to returning to journalism, she was a capacity builder with extensive experience in the nonprofit sector, most recently serving as Vice President at the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida. An eighth-generation Floridian, Deirdre started her career as an award-winning reporter at the Naples Daily News, and later The Florida Times-Union, where her stories on children, youth and seniors sparked civic action and led to policy change at the local and state level. She was the founding Board Chair of The Tributary. You can reach Deirdre at deirdre.conner@jaxtrib.org.