The Colorado Chamber of Commerce hired longtime Denver Business Journal legislative reporter Ed Sealover to serve as vice president of strategic initiatives, according to a news release.

The award-winning journalist will also serve as the editor of “The Sum & Substance” — a new chamber-owned online publication focused on the business lens of Colorado’s legislative and political news.

The chamber focuses on the Colorado Chamber’s legislative session every year.  It published its  2023 Legislative Agenda as a guide map of issues important to member businesses. The new publication is scheduled to go live the week of February 27 and aims to provide “informative and engaging content” to the business community, according to Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman.

Sealover worked 28 years in Colorado’s newspaper industry. He reported on the Colorado legislature for the DBJ for 14 years, in addition to numerous other beats like economic development, transportation, health care, tourism, hospitality and the beverage industry. He started his career at the Colorado Springs Gazette, owned by Clarity Media, and Rocky Mountain News. After the Rocky closed in 2009, former DBJ Publisher Neil Westergaard hired him.

“Ed’s reputation as a trusted source of news and information is unmatched and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the Colorado Chamber,” Furman said in a press release.

With his extensive time covering the business community, Sealover said that he looks forward to not only writing about what is happening but also adding his own voice through offering ideas on how to support workforce development. Part of his new position will be to implement short- and long-term strategic initiatives for the chamber to aid in making a healthy business climate for the whole state.

“After a decade-and-a-half immersing myself in the business community, I know how important it is that government leaders and members of the general public understand what conditions can cause the people who create jobs to prosper or to suffer,” Sealover said. “I hope not only to educate businesses more directly about policy and regulations but to have an impact that can lead to the creation of more jobs and a better economic ecosystem.”

His high-profile position at the DBJ included moderating panel discussions of legislative leaders for both the newspaper and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Colorado Chamber.

Sealover graduated Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 1995. He has received 140 awards from national organizations and press associations across five states. The Society of Professional Journalists’ Colorado Pro chapter named him 2020 Journalist of the Year for his work covering the business community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Sealover is well known in the Colorado craft beer community, as he covered the industry’s meteoric rise in recent years like few other reporters in the state.

He published two books on craft beer and travel: “Mountain Brew: A Guide to Colorado Breweries” and “Colorado Excursions with History, Hikes and Hops.”