Evan Mintz

Evan Mintz
Born
Houston, Texas, U.S.
OccupationJournalist
LanguageEnglish
Education
Period2012–present

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.[1] Elsewhere, his writing appears in Scientific American,[2] Texas Monthly,[3] the Texas Observer,[4] and Houstonia.[5]

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."[6]

He currently serves as the Houston Chronicle's editor of Opinion and Community Engagement, a role he assumed upon his return to the newspaper in July 2025.[7]

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.[8] He graduated from St. John's School in 2004, where he was a writer and cartoonist for the school newspaper.[9] 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.[10][9]

In 2008, Mintz received his B.A. in history from Rice University.[11][12] 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).[13][14] Previously, he served as opinion editor and Backpage editor (the Thresher's satire section).[15]

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).[16] In his summers as a law student, he interned at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.[17]

Career

Mintz is a licensed attorney.[16] After graduating from law school, he began his legal career at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.[7] 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.[16] Mintz was a 2017 Pulitzer finalist in editorial writing.[18]

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.[1][7][19] At Arnold Ventures, Mintz supported policy change efforts in favor of higher education reform,[20] affordable housing,[21] accountable policing,[22] health care affordability,[23] bail reform,[24] and gun safety,[25] among other causes.

In June 2025, the Houston Chronicle announced Mintz's appointment as editor of Opinion and Community Engagement.[7]

Personal life

Mintz married his wife Melissa Goldberg, a clinical psychologist, in January 2016.[8] They connected through JDate in 2011, but they had known each other prior as children since their mothers were sorority sisters.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Thumbs up, down: Farewell to a frequent writer of Thumbs, Evan Mintz". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 12, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  2. ^ Van Ness, Asheley; Mintz, Evan (December 1, 2022). "Research on Gun Violence Has Been Thwarted: It's Now More Urgent Than Ever". Scientific American. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  3. ^ Mintz, Evan (September 16, 2020). "Build the Ike Dike!". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on June 25, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  4. ^ Miller, Justin (January 15, 2021). "Texas Republicans Fanned the Flames of Insurrection Long Before January 6". The Texas Observer. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  5. ^ "Houston Invented 'Abundance.' So Why Aren't We in the Conversation?". Houstonia Magazine. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  6. ^ "Finalist: Joe Holley and Evan Mintz of Houston Chronicle". The Pulitzer Prizes.
  7. ^ a b c d "Evan Mintz named Houston Chronicle editor of Opinion and Community Engagement". Houston Chronicle. June 3, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Melissa Goldberg, Evan Mintz". The New York Times. January 17, 2016. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  9. ^ a b Shea, Jack. "Pulitzer finalist Evan Mintz ('04) visits the Review". The Review. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  10. ^ "Chapel St. John's School". www.sjs.org. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  11. ^ Baker-Katz, Ben (Winter 2026). "Not Mincing Words". Rice Magazine.
  12. ^ "Notable Alumni". Rice University School of Humanities and Arts. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  13. ^ "Student Media staffs name award winners | Your voice. Your media". studentmedia.rice.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  14. ^ Mintz, Evan. "Mintz: As the Chronicle's new opinion editor, I promise to be incredibly biased". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 24, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  15. ^ "The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 5, Ed. 1". The Portal to Texas History. September 22, 2006. Retrieved February 1, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ a b c Mintz, Evan. "Evan Mintz - Houston Chronicle". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 21, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  17. ^ Phung, Liz (June 10, 2010). "Human Trafficking in Texas: Not Just a Border-Line Problem". ACLU of Texas. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  18. ^ "2017 Pulitzer Prize winners". The Washington Post. April 10, 2017. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  19. ^ Schulze, Troy (July 29, 2024). "What's Houston's single biggest success?". Houston Public Media. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  20. ^ "Arnold Ventures | It's Not Magic: Turning Higher Ed Data into Insight". Arnold Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  21. ^ "Arnold Ventures | Want Affordable Housing? Let Supply Meet Demand". Arnold Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  22. ^ "Arnold Ventures | We Must Do Something". Arnold Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  23. ^ "Arnold Ventures | Health Care Costs Are No Joke". Arnold Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  24. ^ "Arnold Ventures | A 'Groundbreaking' Report on Bail Reform in Texas". Arnold Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  25. ^ "Arnold Ventures | A Raw and Relatable Plea for Action". Arnold Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
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