P.R. Lockhart has been named The Connecticut Mirror’s next economic development reporter.

In her role, she will cover the Connecticut economy, with a focus on local development trends, industry clusters and the ways in which businesses interface with, and are affected by, state and federal programs and policy. 

Lockhart previously covered economic development for Mountain State Spotlight, a nonprofit newsroom in West Virginia. She most recently served as a Greensboro reporter for The Assembly, a publication covering North Carolina, and has held writing positions at Vox.com and Mother Jones.

“I’m eager to get to work with P.R.,” said state policy editor Erica E. Phillips, CT Mirror’s former economic development reporter, who will be Lockhart’s editor. “Her wealth of experience and reporting expertise, honed over nearly a decade covering economic equity and politics for several outlets, will bring so much to our team — and to the state of Connecticut.”

Lockhart was a 2025 Xana Fellow at the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, a professional development fellowship for female business journalists. She has also been named to fellowships at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and the International Women’s Media Foundation.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a policy journalism and media studies certificate, both from Duke University.

Her first day at CT Mirror is Monday.