CT Mirror hires new Hartford community engagement reporter, engagement manager

Sandy Battulga and Kat Struhar Join CT Mirror to Expand Hartford Community Engagement

The Connecticut Mirror has hired Sandy Battulga as its new Hartford community engagement reporter and Kat Struhar as manager of engagement, the outlet reported.

Battulga steps into a role built around direct neighborhood outreach. Operating under the banner of the Raising Voices Lab—an initiative dedicated to holistic civic listening—she will host listening sessions, monitor a dedicated text line, and use social media to crowdsource questions from Hartford residents. Her coverage will range from everyday city happenings to practical guides on accessing public resources, alongside stories highlighting local solutions and community successes.

Before moving to Connecticut, Battulga reported on a broad array of issues in her home state of Colorado, serving as a Max Wycisk News Fellow at Colorado Public Radio where her work spanned daily news briefs and long-form radio production. Her background also includes reporting stints at Boston television station WCVB and the Spanish-language fact-checking organization Factchequeado. A graduate of New York University, she spent a year studying at the university’s campus in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sandy to the CT Mirror,” said Keila Torres Ocasio, the CT Mirror’s enterprise editor, who leads the Raising Voices Lab. “Her experiences covering a broad range of issues in her home state of Colorado and building connections and engagement during her time reporting in Buenos Aires will inform her work in Hartford and help build on the connections we’ve already made in the city through our community engagement initiative.”

Audience Growth and Digital Strategy Under Kat Struhar

While Battulga focuses on ground-level reporting in the capital city, Kat Struhar takes charge of audience development across the entire publication. As Manager of Engagement, Struhar will oversee the distribution of newsletters, manage the newsroom’s mobile app and social media presence, and run audience listening campaigns designed to align reporting with reader interests.

Struhar is a former CT Mirror intern who subsequently built out her resume with newsrooms including The Arizona Republic, the American Journalism Project, and The Washington Post. Originally from Maryland, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

“It is so thrilling to welcome Kat back to CT Mirror after her time at The Washington Post,” said Chief Growth Officer Clare Dignan. “As an intern, Kat was creative, innovative, and excited to engage with our audience. She’s bringing all that again, with a new focus on listening and responding to our readers and their interests.”

Both journalists assume their roles as the CT Mirror moves to expand its footprint in Hartford and across its digital platforms.