• by Sara Guaglione , August 5, 2016

Kris Viesselman has been tapped to be the next editor-in-chief and vice president of Roll Call, a title owned by the Economist Group.

She is stepping in for Melinda Henneberger, who left the position this week after refusing to make cuts to staff.

Politico reports that Congressional editor Phyllis Jordan and features writer Warren Rojas were let go Thursday.

“Honored to be leading the smart, scrappy and resilient @rollcall team during this pivotal time in American politics,” Viesselman tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Viesselman, who was previously senior director of digital content at Roll Call, joined parent company CQ Roll Call last December. She played a pivotal role in the team that redesigned and launched Roll Call on a new platform this March.

Viesselman also helped drive the innovation that led to a doubling of traffic online since relaunch, Roll Call chief content officer Dave Ellis said in an internal memo Thursday.

The company hopes Viesselman will expand the publication into a “a robust, highly visual multimedia” brand, driven by her experience in data visualization and digital product from the firm she founded, Electric Ivy, as well as previous roles as VP of product and chief creative officer at the San Diego Union-Tribune and director of digital product development at National Geographic.

Roll Call also announced Gillian Roberts will take on the new role of CQ Roll Call visual reporting editor, coordinating data reporting, photography and video teams to create multimedia news reports.

Two other editors will oversee opportunities to expand Roll Call’s revenue streams: Adriel Bettelheim has been appointed managing editor for enterprise, while David Meyers takes on the role of VP of business operations to coordinate events and special projects.