Erin Strout is an editor in the Bellisario College, mentoring students in the News Lab and the the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.
After graduating from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Strout launched her career as a news reporter for the Express Times, in Easton, Pennsylvania, before moving on to various editing roles at Sales & Marketing Management, a business magazine in New York. She then relocated to Washington, D.C., to begin a position as a staff reporter covering fundraising, endowment management and alumni relations at the Chronicle of Higher Education.
In 2012, Strout forged the next phase of her career as a freelance journalist and author, covering health, fitness and Olympic sports, with a focus on the issues women face as they strive to perform and feel their best. Her work has appeared in Women’s Health, Outside, ESPN, Self, the Washington Post, Well+Good and more. She’s also served as a contributing editor at Runner’s World and a senior writer at Women’s Running. She has covered the top levels of sports, from NCAA championships, Olympic Trials, and the World Marathon Majors to the Rio and Tokyo Olympics.
Strout has also co-authored two books: "Race Everything: How to Conquer Any Race at Any Distance in Any Environment and Have Fun Doing It," with Bart Yasso; and "The Price She Pays: The Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women's Sports—From the Schoolyard to the Stadium," with Tiffany Brown, Ph.D., and Katie Steele, LMFT.
She’s the recipient of the 2023 George Hirsch Journalism Award, presented by the New York Road Runners, in recognition of her outstanding storytelling in women’s sports, as well as the 2025 Webby People’s Choice award for best writing (editorial) for her coverage of women’s sports apparel at the Paris Olympics, published by Women’s Health. An enthusiastic runner and dog-lover, Strout is always on the lookout for new outdoor adventures in and around State College (and beyond). Find out more about her work at byerinstrout.com.
