Audrey Cooper is the managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle — the youngest person and first woman to fill the role.

As the company’s top editor, Audrey has prioritized investigative journalism while building a staff focused on the stories and trends that reflect the unique spirit of the San Francisco Bay Area. Under her leadership, the newsroom has won numerous awards for coverage of such events as the deadly 2011 San Bruno gas explosion caused by safety failures at Pacific Gas & Electric Co.; the potentially disastrous decisions that led to flawed bolts being used in the new Bay Bridge span; the years-long fight for gay marriage; the deaccreditation of the nation’s largest community college; and chronic crime problems in the city of Oakland.

Audrey is leading The Chronicle as it reimagines how to best deliver news to its readers. In 2013, Editor & Publisher magazine named her one of “10 Women to Watch” in the media industry.

Thanks to the company’s digital products, more people read The Chronicle’s journalism than ever before in its 150-year history. But Audrey wasn’t always interested in saving daily journalism. When she as a child, she wanted to be either a tap dancer (didn’t like the leotards) or a Supreme Court justice (didn’t realize she probably had to go to law school).

A native of Kansas City, Audrey attended Boston University, graduating magna cum laude with separate degrees in journalism and political science.

In her spare time, Audrey serves as president of San Francisco City Guides, a nonprofit organization of more than 350 volunteers who lead free walking tours of San Francisco.

She is still a wicked tap dancer.