Caitie Barkley spent three years writing for The Baton Rouge Business Report, a business magazine based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and its twice-daily e-newsletter, Daily Report, where she covered local breaking news, contributed long-form feature articles, and won two national awards from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. She graduated from Louisiana State University in December 2017 with a mass communication degree. Caitie joined Public Affairs in July 2021.