Who is Versha Sharma? Teen Vogue hires new editor-in-chief after Alexi McCammond's controversial exit
In March this year, Alexi McCammond was appointed and then quickly removed as the editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. Conde Nast announced they were firing her in the light of anti-Asian and homophobic tweets from a decade ago resurfacing on the Internet. Two months later the magazine has named Versha Sharma, who currently leads news and cultural coverage as a managing editor for NowThis.
Vogue's global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer Anna Wintour announced the news of Sharma's appointment during a press conference on Monday, May 10. “Versha is a natural leader with a global perspective and deep understanding of local trends and issues — from politics and activism to culture and fashion — and their importance to our audience,” Wintour said. “She is a masterful storyteller who can move from platform to platform with ease, and I am excited by her optimistic and expansive vision for Teen Vogue," she added.
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Sharma, 34, took to her Twitter handle to share the big news with all of her followers. "I am incredibly excited and grateful for this awesome opportunity. Thank you to everyone who helped me get here!" her tweet read. Refusing to comment on the tumultuous departure of her predecessor McCammond, Sharma told New York Times, “All I can say is I share the values of the Teen Vogue staff and audience, and I’m very excited to work with them and work together moving forward,” Sharma said, adding that Teen Vogue “does a good job of showing how interconnected everything is, whether it’s fashion or politics or culture.”
The 34-year-old has a history of working with political publications for years and she previously served as a managing editor and senior correspondent at news website NowThis since 2014. Sharma will officially take charge of Teen Vogue on May 24, 2021. Her work at Teen Vogue will entail but not be limited to taking charge of creating content across all platforms as well as the magazine's editorial vision.
Sharma graduated in political science, history, and communications from the Centenary College of Louisiana from 2004-2007. Later on, she started working as a communication and research intern at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. She also worked for former President Obama's presidential campaign where she was involved with data entry, volunteer recruitment, and phone banking among other things.
In 2009, Versha became a media assistant for 'Francisco Moya for City Council' where she contributed to the copy and design of the council's website, held debates, and workshops with Charles O'Byrne. She was then hired as a news writer and front page editor for TPM Media LLC. She covered politics and ethics for them and later on became associate publisher, and managed ad operations and sales support, according to her LinkedIn page. She also assisted with the first full-scale redesign of TPM in four years.
Between July to November 2012, she was hired as a contributor/writer at MSNBC's website where she focused especially on the 2012 presidential campaign coverage. Simultaneously she had also begun working with Vocativ as a features reporter where she reported on international and conflict news. Then in 2014, she joined NowThis where she oversaw news, politics, and cultural coverage. The Edward R Murrow award was bestowed upon her for her work on NowThis' documentary about the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
Back in March, McCammond left the publication after the surfacing of past anti-Asian and anti-gay tweets. She had apologized in 2019, describing the tweets as “insensitive” but after she was announced on March 5 as Teen Vogie's new leader, staff members and celebrities alike posted statements of concern. On March 18, she tweeted that she had resigned.