Candy’s Media Announces Promotions of Bethany Erickson, Shelby Skrhak

From Staff Reports

Nearly eight years to the day that Candy Evans began CandysDirt.com, the online real estate publication that became the flagship news provider of the Candy’s Media brand, the organization announced promotions of two staff members.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to announce the promotions of two hard-working journalists in our organization: Bethany Erickson and Shelby Skrhak,” said Executive Editor Joanna England. “While we have grown so much over the past few years, we’re confident that these staffing changes hasten us toward our goal of becoming the primary source of real estate news for the region.”

Bethany Erickson

Bethany Erickson, who began as a freelancer with the organization nearly four years ago before becoming a full-time columnist focusing on education, affordable housing policy, and enterprise reporting, has been named Director of Audience Engagement.

Erickson most recently won the 2018 National Association of Real Estate Editors’ Gold Award for Best Series, besting entries from Bloomberg and The Washington Post. In her new role, Erickson will continue to write, but will also be responsible for creating and implementing an audience engagement strategy for the rapidly growing brand, as well as serving as a member of the editorial board with publisher and founder Candy Evans and Executive Editor Joanna England.

Shelby Skrhak

Shelby Skrhak, who joined the company earlier in 2018, has been named Senior Writer. She will oversee and create advertorial content for Candy’s Media branded sites and will also continue to contribute her popular motivational column on CandysDirt.com as well as other stories. Skrhak came to Candy’s Media from Plano-based SUCCESS Magazine. She also hosts a popular podcast called, “Secret to My Success.”

The organization also announced the departure of Senior Writer Leah Shafer, who joined the staff four years ago. During her tenure at Candy’s Media, Shafer oversaw the company’s advertorial offerings. She also created and maintained several of CandysDirt.com’s most popular features, including the Open House Roundup and regular features of homes within certain price points, such as the Tuesday Two Hundred and others.