About The JOLT News Organization

The Journal of Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater and The Daily JOLT are published by The JOLT News Organization, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 87-2868827.

Our mission:

The JOLT News Organization nourishes the civic lives of Thurston County residents and grows community capacity by publishing accurate, relevant and entertaining stories that help people become better informed and more involved in local issues, events and activities.

Established in May 2020, JOLT stands for The Journal of Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater, a hyper-local (digital-native) news site, weekday newsletter and the name of our organization. (We converted to become a nonprofit corporation in November 2021.)

Our beats include public meetings and hearings, education, business, local politics, local environmental issues, crises, celebrations and more. We are committed to providing space for multiple perspectives and opinions from professional journalists, new reporters and not-yet-published writers.

Board of Directors

Linda Villegas Bremer

Linda Villegas Bremer grew up speaking Spanish in Mission, TX. The first member of her family to earn a college degree, she worked in a series of progressively more challenging consulting and management roles in business and government, eventually serving as a Cabinet member under Governor Christine Gregoire as Director of General Administration (now the Department of Enterprise Services). She lives in Thurston County.

Zahid Chaudhry

David Hanig

Chuck Pfeil

Alan Wertjes

Bill Will

Bill Will is Industry Growth & Development Coordinator for Solar Installers of Washington, a trade association. He is a former newspaper reporter and editor and was executive director of Washington Newspaper Publishers Association from 2005 to 2014. He lives in Olympia.

Editors and Publisher

Edwin Oscar Ulgasan Gutierrez, Jr.

Edwin Oscar Ulgasan Gutierrez, Jr. – news@theJOLTnews.com – is an associate editor of The JOLT . Jay, as he’s called by friends, started writing for newspapers to avoid a …

Sage Hamilton

Sage Hamilton is an associate editor of The JOLT. Experienced as a journalist, editor, photographer, content writer and digital marketer. Sage has been working for The …

Danny Stusser

Danny Stusser -- danny@theJOLTnews.com -- is the publisher of The JOLT and executive director of The JOLT News Organization , its nonprofit owner. He has been a news junkie since age 12 when he …

Reporters and Contributing Writers

P. Jade Asumbrado

P. Jade Asumbrado – pjade@theJOLTnews.com – joined The JOLT in August 2022 and covers local school districts and Thurston County beats. Aside from being a journalist, she is a …

Darlanne Cruz

Darlanne Cruz – darlanne@theJOLTnews.com – joined The JOLT in August 2023 to cover the crime and justice beats. She worked as an on-air television reporter for GMA7 Cebu and reporter …

Jay Fratt

Jay Fratt is an Olympia-based local business owner and podcaster .

Justin Iglesia

Justin Iglesia – justin@theJOLTnews.com – covers some county meetings and is the Community Calendar Editor for The JOLT . As a child, he dreamt of becoming a radio disk jockey and …

Lorilyn Lirio

Lorilyn Lirio – lorilyn@theJOLTnews.com – covers the City of Olympia for The JOLT . She has more than 20 years of solid experience in journalism. She started her career at Journal …

JC Medina

JC Medina – jc@theJOLTnews.com – reports on the City of Lacey and Thurston County. She also manages social media for The JOLT. She holds a degree in Journalism from the University …

JM Simpson

JM Simpson - jm@theJOLTnews.com - is a veteran photojournalist who lives in Lacey.

Jerome Tuaño

Jerome Tuaño – jerome@theJOLTnews.com – an award-winning journalist, covers the Port of Olympia, City of Tumwater and environmental issues as a reporter for The JOLT . He …

Vince Zafra

Ariel Vince C. Zafra – vince@theJOLTnews.com – writes sports news for The JOLT . He’s been fascinated with sports and its fan culture since his dad introduced him to watching …

Columnists

Kathleen Anderson, Columnist

Kathleen Anderson – kathleen@theJOLTnews.com – began writing The Sage Connection column (most Wednesdays) in November 2020. She has written essays and columns for …

Alexis Rae Baker, Columnist

Alexis Rae Baker -- Lexis@theJOLTnews.com -- has written the "Advice from A Lexis" column each Monday in The JOLT since December 2020. She grew up in Thurston County and earned her …

Debra L. Glasser, M.D.

Debra L. Glasser, M.D. -- drdebra@theJOLTnews.com -- writes the "A JOLT of Health" column in The JOLT . She is a retired internal medicine physician in Olympia.

Mary Beth Harrington, CVA

Mary Beth Harrington, CVA (Certified Volunteer Administrator) -- marybeth@theJOLTnews.com -- writes the "Thurston County's Hidden Sector" column each week. She lives in Tumwater and travels the …

Jill Severn

Jill Severn -- jill@theJOLTnews.com -- writes her eponymous gardening column from her home in Olympia, where she grows vegetables, flowers, and a small flock of chickens. She loves conversation among …

Shirley Stirling

Shirley Stirling -- shirley@theJOLTnews.com -- writes the "Surely Goodness" column about good things people in Thurston County are doing. She lives in Lacey.

George Walter

George Walter -- george@theJOLTnews.com -- writes the "Thurston's Birds" column in The JOLT. He is the environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural …

About The JOLT News Organization

Editorial Independence Policy

Donor and Financial Transparency Policy

Status as a Nonprofit Entity

Non-Discrimination Policy