Laasya Shekhar Named The Xylom’s Next Managing Editor, Succeeding Rhysea Agrawal
- Alex Ip
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
Folks, I have some important news to share: after two years at The Xylom, Rhysea Agrawal will be departing our newsroom to return to academia at the end of the month.
Rhysea started as a part-time Newsroom Fellow in September 2023 and was promoted to part-time Managing Editor in 2024. In just under two years, our readership has quadrupled, our team expanded to four people, and we snagged our first major journalism awards and press coverage.
It’s never easy being Employee #1, but Rhysea has gone above and beyond to set the culture of our newsroom; she is firm yet nimble, creative while caring towards our staff and contributors. However, this is much less a “goodbye” than a “see you around”: Rhysea will be joining our Advisory Board after transitioning out of the newsroom.
“It was my pleasure and honor to serve as the Managing Editor of The Xylom for the past year, and now I’m excited to step into even bigger shoes as a member of the Advisory Board,” Rhysea said. She will be playing an increased role at the USC Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication, where she recently taught the first-of-its-kind professional certificate program in sustainability communication.
Rhysea will leverage her institutional knowledge of The Xylom to assist us in identifying and developing strategies for development opportunities.
“As a member of the advisory board, I hope to bring new perspectives and partnerships to the Xylom, as we move towards making our newsroom a hub for trusted science and health news told through a global perspective.”
One of our contributors is ready to step into the role of Managing Editor: Laasya Shekhar is a familiar face to those who have followed our accountability and solutions coverage in Southern India; behind-the-scenes, she has also been a freelance editor and fact-checker for us.
“I’m extremely delighted that Laasya will be joining us as a full-time member of the newsroom,” Rhysea said. “Her dedication towards reporting is simply unparalleled, and I am very sure The Xylom will benefit greatly from the wealth of her experience.”
Based in Chennai, India, Laasya is a veteran of two venerable local independent news outlets, Citizen Matters and Newslaundry. As a freelancer, she also has bylines with a who’s who of international publications such as the BBC, Thomson Reuters, Nature, Dialogue Earth, and Mongabay India.
“The Xylom saw potential in stories that no one else did,” Laasya said. “I particularly value The Xylom’s commitment to publishing translations in local languages — because what is the point if a story doesn’t reach the sources and the very skeletons it was built on?”
Laasya will be managing day-to-day editorial matters, including our entire roster of freelancers. She has set a lofty goal of publishing 12 stories a month — tripling our production at the start of the year.
“In my new role, I aspire to focus on cross-border, investigative, environmental reportage, streamline publishing and draw content strategy,” Laasya added. There’s a quiet joy in staring at the laptop for hours, sharpening stories, and watching them go live.”
Laasya joins The Xylom at a time when the U.S. and India are both seeing assaults on democracy, environmental health, and press freedom. To meet the moment, we are launching a fundraiser with a goal of $25,200 to fully fund her position. I am determined to set Laasya up for success, and I ask that we lean in together to get through this difficult time.
Laasya will start work on September 2, after Labor Day; however, she will be joining us for a virtual meet-and-greet with readers on August 27th 11am ET to fully articulate her vision for The Xylom. We’d love to take questions, tips, and suggestions from you as well.
Please join me in thanking Rhysea for her service and welcoming Laasya to the newsroom!
