Robert K. Elder is the President and CEO of Outrider Foundation, and the author or editor of 30+ books.

His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Salon.com, and many other publications. He previously served as the Chief Digital Officer at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Executive Director of Digital Product Development & Innovation at Crain Communications.

Elder spent a decade as a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, later becoming the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun-Times’ 32 suburban newspapers and founder of its podcast network.

He has served on the boards of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Headline Club, becoming its president in 2019-2020. Elder has taught journalism at Columbia College Chicago and at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

Fun facts: In college, Elder was a student archivist of Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Early in his career, Elder was also a prolific concert photographer and film critic. 

A Montana native and graduate of the University of Oregon, Elder lives and writes in Chicagoland.