Audience Engagement Manager

Heather Lynn Brady is a writer, editor, and digital producer based in Washington, D.C. She joined Sojourners in 2019 and leads audience growth and development as audience engagement manager.

Heather has a deep love of quality data and strongly believes in connecting audiences with the content they need to live their best lives. She also reports and writes about culture, exploration, science, and the environment. She has written about issues ranging from disputed national borders and Rohingya refugees to pollution found in the Mariana Trench and the key impacts of pipeline projects in the U.S. Heather has a bachelor's degree in English and creative writing from the University of Mary Washington and a master’s degree in journalism from Georgetown University, where she focused on digital, data, and multimedia reporting projects. Her work has been featured by National Geographic, the New York Times, Slate, U.S. News and World Report, and NPR, among others.

In addition to her passion for the digital world, she is a published creative nonfiction writer and founder of a literary magazine at her undergraduate university. She also worked for Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church as a communications coordinator, helping them improve their web presence and communications strategies.

In her spare time, Heather is an avid reader and adventurous traveler, and her passion for partner dance has taken her around the world. She is on the board for Capital Blues, the dance group in D.C. that organizes weekly and national blues dance events, and co-founded the monthly fusion partner dance First Sunday Fusion. She also lived in the woods for three summers, working as a camp counselor at the Presbytery of the James's Camp Hanover.

Posts By This Author

Letters: Is Making Peace In Ukraine Making Peace With Oppression?

by Heather Brady 02-23-2023

A woman holds a sign during a daily demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine in Krakow, Poland ahead of one-year anniversary of Russian invasion on Ukraine. Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto 

Readers respond to Adam Russell Taylor's recent essay on the Christian imperative to make peace.

My Church Was Right: Harry Potter Was a Threat to My Faith

by Heather Brady 07-07-2022
A young child reading 'Harry Potter and the half blood prince' dressed up as Harry Potter

A young child dressed up as Harry Potter reads Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. James Boardman / Alamy

I was in elementary school when the first Harry Potter books were published in the United States. At the time, I was a painfully shy and awkward child; I treasured my library card and found solace in the stacks of books I carried home from our local branch. Though I was a prime target for a sensational new children’s book series, my parents — like the rest of our fundamentalist Baptist church — deemed anything about witchcraft inappropriate reading for good Christian children.

WATCH: Amanda Gorman's Inaugural Poem Quotes Micah 4:4

by Heather Brady 01-20-2021
Amanda Gorman at Biden's inauguration

American poet Amanda Gorman reads a poem during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington January 20, 2021. Patrick Semansky/Pool via REUTERS

She became the youngest inaugural poet in America's history.

Jim Wallis on CT Editorial: 'This Is a Crack in the Wall of White Evangelical Support'

by Heather Brady 12-20-2019

Christianity Today, a magazine founded by the late evangelist Billy Graham, published an op-ed Thursday calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office and urging evangelicals not to support him.

Officials: Suspect in Jersey City Shooting Targeted Kosher Supermarket

by Heather Brady 12-11-2019

A picture of the scene the day after an hours-long gun battle with two men around a kosher market in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 11, 2019. Image courtesy REUTERS/Lloyd Mitchell.

One of the two suspects in a shooting in Jersey City, N.J., on Tuesday had previously posted anti-Semitic messages online and was linked to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement.

Amid Increasing Congestion and Pollution, Indonesia to Relocate Capital City

by Heather Brady 05-01-2019

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia is moving forward with a plan to relocate the country’s capital city.

Jakarta, the current capital city, has sunk about 13 feet in the last 30 years.