Atlas Obscura welcomes award-winning leader as Executive Editor

NEW YORK – Atlas Obscura, the leading community-focused travel platform inspiring wonder and curiosity about the world’s most remarkable places, today announced award-winning journalist Emma Patti is joining the company as Executive Editor. 

Patti will lead the operational and strategic deployment of Atlas Obscura’s content, ensuring it is designed to help people reach their travel goals and show off destinations in fresh and inspiring ways. She will keep Atlas Obscura’s communities at the forefront, involving them in content creation and curation. She will report to Chief Product Transformation Officer Lauren Johnston. 

“Emma is an innovative and results-driven leader and her experience in growing audiences and connecting communities will be critical as Atlas Obscura continues its work to build the world’s best travel community app for passionate, frequent travelers,” Johnston said. 

Patti is an award-winning editor with deep experience in audience-focused content, community building, visual storytelling and editorial product management. She was most recently Managing Editor for The Baltimore Banner where she was part of a team of journalists who led a Pulitzer-prize winning project and was instrumental in helping to build the non-profit into Maryland’s top news source in just three years. Prior to joining The Banner, Patti led digital and visual strategy teams at Education Week, The Baltimore Sun and several city and regional magazines. She has a degree in photojournalism and multimedia from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently pursuing her MBA, also at UNC. She lives in Baltimore with her partner, son, two dogs, and 57 house plants.

Her favorite off-the-beaten-path travel experience is from the West Fjords in Iceland. “We stumbled upon one of Iceland’s classic, roadside hot pots. Soaking in the geothermal waters in pitch blackness was magical, and a little eerie. But I thoroughly enjoyed just being able to take in the vast landscape, the stars and listen to the sounds of the area.” 

Patti’s appointment comes amid an exciting moment of expansion for the company.

About Atlas Obscura

Atlas Obscura is the leading community-focused travel platform inspiring wonder and curiosity about the world’s most remarkable places. Through its award-winning content, unique experiences, and community-driven platform featuring more than 30,000 wondrous places, Atlas Obscura serves millions of passionate travelers seeking authentic, off-the-beaten-path discoveries. The company publishes bestselling books including the No. 1 New York Times bestseller “Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders,” and operates digital products that help people find amazing things to do when they are traveling.

For more information about Atlas Obscura, visit www.atlasobscura.com.

For questions or interview requests, please contact spokesman John Stoll at john@ridgelywalsh.com