Danielle Frost joins Smoke Signals staff

Danielle Frost, a 19-year veteran of Pacific Northwest journalism, joined the staff of Smoke Signals on Tuesday, Sept. 26, as the staff writer.

Frost hails from the Seattle area and graduated from Eastern Washington University with a journalism degree in 1998. She started her journalism career working for The Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day, Ore., where she covered the community of Prairie City -- city government, schools and sports -- and wrote numerous feature stories.

She joined the staff of the Gresham Outlook/Sandy Post in 1999, covering the Mt. Hood-area community of Sandy by herself, and also has worked for the Wilsonville Spokesman and Camas-Washougal Post-Record as an education reporter. She left the Camas newspaper after almost nine years of employment to accept the position with the Grand Ronde Tribe.

“Danielle was the unanimous choice of the interview panel,” Editor Dean Rhodes said. “I think her extensive experience working for weekly newspapers will make her a good fit working for Smoke Signals. Having previously hired Danielle in John Day and Sandy when I was editor at both of those publications, I was happy to see that she applied for the staff writer position and reassured she was the best choice based on the interview panel’s endorsement.

“In addition, I think her experience of working in smaller communities will translate well to working for the Tribe and in Grand Ronde. I think readers of Smoke Signals will enjoy her writing style, how she approaches her stories and interacting with her during interviews. She is very personable.”

In her spare time, Frost is an avid swimmer, runner and cyclist, and regularly participates in road races and triathlons. She also was the volunteer director with Why Racing Events and served as the assistant cross country coach at Washougal High School for three years.

“I am looking forward to working for the Grand Ronde Tribe,” she said. “I can’t wait to meet the people and learn more about the Tribe’s culture, traditions and history. I feel that my entire journalism career has been leading up to this great opportunity.”

Frost moved to Yamhill County and has a 10-year-old son, Alex.

She can be contacted at 503-879-4663 or danielle.frost@grandronde.org.