The Times has announced two newsroom promotions as part of a reorganization of the newspaper’s local news coverage team.

Shannon Casas has been named as metro editor and Amber Allen as night editor, both effective Monday, Executive Editor Mitch Clarke announced.

“It’s always exciting to be able to promote someone on our staff into a new role,” Clarke said. “Both of these women have proven themselves to be strong journalists, and I’m confident these changes will make our newsroom stronger as we continue our efforts to be the premier source of news and information about Northeast Georgia.”

Casas, 25, who previously worked as assistant life editor, replaces Senior Content Editor Edie Rogers, who left for a position at North Georgia College & State University.

Casas will be in charge of daily planning and assignments for the newsroom’s staff of six reporters and three photographers.

“I’ve grown to love Hall County and The Times in the four years I’ve been here, and I look forward to continuing and improving our excellent local news coverage,” she said.

Casas is a Suwanee native who earned a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism at Berry College in Rome.

She has spent all four years of her professional career at The Times as a copy editor and assistant life editor.

Casas and her husband, Brendan, live in Gainesville.

Allen, 28, has been a copy editor and page designer with The Times since 2008. In her new duties, she will serve as the newsroom’s senior editor five nights a week and make decisions concerning news content and page design in print and online.

“This new position takes what I love most about copy editing and expands it further into new and exciting opportunities and challenges,” Allen said.

A native of Sioux City, Iowa, she earned a bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication at Iowa State University in 2003. She has previously worked at the Augusta Chronicle, White County News and The Northeast Georgian. Allen was selected as a 2002 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund copy editing intern and worked with the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch.

Allen and her husband, Drew, live in Cleveland.