{{short description|American journalist}} {{use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox writer | name = Evan Mintz | birth_date = | birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S. | occupation = Journalist | education = {{ubl|Rice University (BA)|Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (JD)}} | period = 2012–present | notableworks = | website = | subject = | language = English }} '''Evan Mintz''' is an American journalist and lawyer.
Mintz joined the editorial board of the ''Houston Chronicle'' in 2012, where he was promoted to deputy opinion editor before his 2019 departure.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Thumbs up, down: Farewell to a frequent writer of Thumbs, Evan Mintz|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Thumbs-up-down-Farewell-to-a-frequent-writer-of-13710263.php|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2026-02-01|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250812170438/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Thumbs-up-down-Farewell-to-a-frequent-writer-of-13710263.php|archive-date=2025-08-12|language=en}}</ref> Elsewhere, his writing appears in ''Scientific American'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Research on Gun Violence Has Been Thwarted: It's Now More Urgent Than Ever|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/research-on-gun-violence-has-been-thwarted-it-rsquo-s-now-more-urgent-than-ever/|website=Scientific American|date=2022-12-01|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en|first=Asheley|last=Van Ness|last2=Mintz|first2=Evan}}</ref> ''Texas Monthly'',<ref>{{Cite news|title=Build the Ike Dike!|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/build-ike-dike/|work=Texas Monthly|date=2020-09-16|access-date=2026-02-01|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250625223811/https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/build-ike-dike/|archive-date=2025-06-25|language=en-US|first=Evan|last=Mintz}}</ref> the ''Texas Observer'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Texas Republicans Fanned the Flames of Insurrection Long Before January 6|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-republicans-fanned-the-flames-of-insurrection-long-before-january-6/|website=The Texas Observer|date=2021-01-15|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US|first=Justin|last=Miller}}</ref> and ''Houstonia''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Houston Invented 'Abundance.' So Why Aren't We in the Conversation?|url=https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-city-life/2025/04/abundance-book-ezra-klein|website=Houstonia Magazine|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2017, Mintz was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing (alongside Joe Holley, also of the ''Chronicle'') for his work "on gun laws, gun culture and gun tragedies that combined wit, eloquence and moral power in a fine brew of commonsense argumentation."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/joe-holley-and-evan-mintz|title=Finalist: Joe Holley and Evan Mintz of Houston Chronicle|website=The Pulitzer Prizes}}</ref>
He currently serves as the ''Houston Chronicle''<nowiki/>'s editor of Opinion and Community Engagement, a role he assumed upon his return to the newspaper in July 2025.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/about/newsroom-news/article/mintz-houston-chronicle-editorial-board-editor-20358980.php|title=Evan Mintz named Houston Chronicle editor of Opinion and Community Engagement|first=|date=June 3, 2025|access-date=February 1, 2025|work=Houston Chronicle}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Mintz was born in Houston, Texas, to Jordan H. Mintz, a tax lawyer known for whisteblowing during the Enron scandal, and Lauren D. Mintz.<ref name=":4"/> He graduated from St. John's School in 2004, where he was a writer and cartoonist for the school newspaper.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Pulitzer finalist Evan Mintz ('04) visits the Review|url=https://www.sjsreview.com/7606/multimedia/pulitzer-finalist-evan-mintz-04-visits-the-review/|website=The Review|access-date=2026-02-01|first=Jack|last=Shea}}</ref> Mintz said he received death threats from the St. Johns community in response to an article he wrote titled "Chapel’s Religious Nature is Inherently Wrong," in which he critiqued the school's mandatory (non-denominational) daily chapel service.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chapel St. John's School|url=https://www.sjs.org/school-life/chapel|website=www.sjs.org|access-date=2026-02-01}}</ref><ref name=":2" />
In 2008, Mintz received his B.A. in history from Rice University.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://magazine.rice.edu/winter-2026/not-mincing-words|title=Not Mincing Words|last=Baker-Katz|first=Ben|date=Winter 2026|work=Rice Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://humanities.rice.edu/notable-alumni|title=Notable Alumni|access-date=February 1, 2026|website=Rice University School of Humanities and Arts}}</ref> An undergraduate at Hanszen College, he served as executive editor of ''The Rice Thresher'', where received the Bobb Award for writing and journalism (a staff-voted award recognizing that year's best news and features story).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Student Media staffs name award winners {{!}} Your voice. Your media.|url=https://studentmedia.rice.edu/2014/06/10/student-media-staffs-name-award-winners/|website=studentmedia.rice.edu|access-date=2026-02-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Mintz: As the Chronicle's new opinion editor, I promise to be incredibly biased|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/evan-mintz-chronicle-opinion-bias-20784692.php|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2026-02-01|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251024213818/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/evan-mintz-chronicle-opinion-bias-20784692.php|archive-date=2025-10-24|language=en|first=Evan|last=Mintz}}</ref> Previously, he served as opinion editor and Backpage editor (the ''Thresher''<nowiki/>'s satire section).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443079/m1/3/?q=%22evan%20mintz%22|title=The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 5, Ed. 1|date=September 22, 2006|access-date=February 1, 2026|website=The Portal to Texas History|url-status=live}}</ref>
He received his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City and served on the editorial board of the ''Cardozo Jurist'' (an independent, student-run newspaper).<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Evan Mintz - Houston Chronicle|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/evan-mintz/|website=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2026-02-01|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260121052013/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/evan-mintz/|archive-date=2026-01-21|language=en|first=Evan|last=Mintz}}</ref> In his summers as a law student, he interned at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Human Trafficking in Texas: Not Just a Border-Line Problem|url=https://www.aclutx.org/news/human-trafficking-texas-not-just-border-line-problem/|website=ACLU of Texas|date=2010-06-10|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US|first=Liz|last=Phung}}</ref>
==Career== Mintz is a licensed attorney.<ref name=":3" /> After graduating from law school, he began his legal career at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.<ref name=":1" /> He left the District Attorney's Office in 2011 when he started contributing to the ''Houston'' ''Chronicle'' as a freelance writer, joining full-time in 2012.<ref name=":3" /> Mintz was a 2017 Pulitzer finalist in editorial writing.<ref>{{Cite news|title=2017 Pulitzer Prize winners|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2017-pulitzer-prize-winners/2017/04/10/c0953294-1e27-11e7-be2a-3a1fb24d4671_story.html|work=The Washington Post|date=2017-04-10|access-date=2026-02-01|issn=0190-8286|language=en-US}}</ref>
In May 2018, Mintz was named deputy opinion editor for the ''Chronicle''. Mintz left the newspaper in 2019 to join Houston-based philanthropy Arnold Ventures, where he managed content creation and later became director of communications, a position he held until his 2025 departure.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=What's Houston's single biggest success?|url=https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2024/07/29/495026/whats-houstons-single-biggest-success/|website=Houston Public Media|date=2024-07-29|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US|first=Troy|last=Schulze}}</ref> At Arnold Ventures, Mintz supported policy change efforts in favor of higher education reform,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arnold Ventures {{!}} It's Not Magic: Turning Higher Ed Data into Insight|url=https://www.arnoldventures.org/newsletter/its-not-magic-turning-higher-ed-data-into-insight|website=Arnold Ventures|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> affordable housing,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arnold Ventures {{!}} Want Affordable Housing? Let Supply Meet Demand.|url=https://www.arnoldventures.org/stories/want-affordable-housing-let-supply-meet-demand|website=Arnold Ventures|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> accountable policing,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arnold Ventures {{!}} We Must Do Something|url=https://www.arnoldventures.org/newsletter/we-must-do-something|website=Arnold Ventures|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> health care affordability,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arnold Ventures {{!}} Health Care Costs Are No Joke|url=https://www.arnoldventures.org/newsletter/health-care-costs-are-no-joke|website=Arnold Ventures|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> bail reform,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arnold Ventures {{!}} A 'Groundbreaking' Report on Bail Reform in Texas|url=https://www.arnoldventures.org/newsletter/a-groundbreaking-report-on-bail-reform-in-texas|website=Arnold Ventures|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> and gun safety,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arnold Ventures {{!}} A Raw and Relatable Plea for Action|url=https://www.arnoldventures.org/newsletter/a-raw-and-relatable-plea-for-action|website=Arnold Ventures|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> among other causes.
In June 2025, the ''Houston Chronicle'' announced Mintz's appointment as editor of Opinion and Community Engagement.<ref name=":1" />
== Personal life == Mintz married his wife Melissa Goldberg, a clinical psychologist, in January 2016.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|title=Melissa Goldberg, Evan Mintz|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/fashion/weddings/melissa-goldberg-evan-mintz.html|work=The New York Times|date=2016-01-17|access-date=2026-02-01|issn=0362-4331|language=en-US}}</ref> They connected through JDate in 2011, but they had known each other prior as children since their mothers were sorority sisters.<ref name=":4" />
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== External links == * {{Twitter|id=evan7257}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mintz, Evan}} Category:Rice University alumni Category:Rice University people Category:Houston Chronicle people Category:American male journalists Category:People from Houston Category:Living people Category:Journalists from Houston Category:Writers from Houston Category:American lawyers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)