How do you use your story to tell a bigger story?

Three award-winning journalists with far-ranging stories and wildly varied experiences share insights and inside knowledge that have helped them make the personal universal.

Maria Hinojosa, author of Once I Was You: A Memoir Of Love and Hate In A Torn America, and Michele Weldon, author of Act Like You’re Having A Good Time, will be in conversation with Teresa Puente, an award-winning journalist and senior leader with The OpEd Project.

This live virtual event is part of The OpEd Project’s 2021 series exploring aspects of voice, identity, and how ideas and words come to change the world. The conversation will be followed by a live Q&A with all three journalists.

REGISTRATION

This event is open to all, regardless of means. Because there is limited capacity, and to help us estimate attendance and foster a sustainable model, we ask everyone to register and pay what you can. We provide a suggested sliding scale, and if the lowest tier is a financial hardship, we will provide a full scholarship to anyone in needs. If you need assistance, email anya@theopedproject.org. Once you are registered, you will get a confirmation email with a link and password to the webinar.

ABOUT THE OPED PROJECT

The OpEd Project is a think tank and leadership organization that accelerates the ideas and impact of underrepresented voices, including women. We are a community of journalists and thought leaders who actively share knowledge, resources and connections across color, creed, class, sexuality, gender and beyond. We have been featured in most major media. We have stunning results. We believe the best ideas, regardless of where they come from, should have a chance to be heard and change the world.

ABOUT THE EXPERTS

• Maria Hinojosa, creator and founder of Futuro Media, is Anchor and Executive Producer of the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, which she co-founded, and Co-Host of In The Thick, the Futuro Media’s award-winning political podcast. An award-winning journalist for nearly 30 years for PBS, CBS, WNBC, CNN and NPR, Hinojosa anchored the Emmy Award winning talk show from WGBH, Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One. She is the author of three books including Raising Raul: Adventures Raising Myself and My Son and Crews: Gang Members Talk with Maria Hinojosa, a collection of interviews with gang members in New York City. She and has won dozens of awards, including four Emmys, the John Chancellor Award, the Studs Terkel Community Media Award, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club, and the Ruben Salazar Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She has been honored with her own day in October by New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and has been recognized by People En Español as one of the 25 most powerful Latina women. Hinojosa was the first Latina to anchor a PBS FRONTLINE report: “Lost in Detention” which aired in October 2011 and was the first to explore abuse at immigrant detention. Her work has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America.

• Michele Weldon, journalist and emerita faculty at Northwestern University in journalism, is the award-winning author of six nonfiction books, including the memoirs, I Closed My Eyes and Escape Points. She has contributed chapters in seven other books. Her essays have appeared in New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, TIME, OZY, The Guardian, Slate, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, USA Today, NBC Think, Narratively, Cosmopolitan and scores more. A senior facilitator with The OpEd Project since 2011, she has led Public Voices Fellowship initiatives at Northwestern, Stanford, Princeton, Brown, Loyola, DePaul and Rush universities, Ms. Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Boone Family Foundation, Center for Global Policy Solutions and Urgent Fund Africa. She is the award-winning editorial director of Take The Lead, a global women's leadership initiative, and received a 2020 Chicago Journalists Award for her work there. She serves on the advisory boards of Global Girl Media Chicago, Sarah’s Inn, Beat The Streets Chicago, Between Friends and Children’s Foundation. She is a former member of the board of directors of Journalism & Women Symposium and is the mother of three adult sons.

• Teresa Puente teaches journalism as faculty at California State University, Long Beach and is a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project, leading fellowships at Northwestern, Columbia, DePaul, Loyola, Texas Women’s and San Jose State universities, as well as University of Texas, Ms. Foundation, McCormick Foundation and Tucson Public Voices Fellowship. Puente was previously a reporter at the Chicago Tribune and also was a member of the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board and wrote a column for the op-ed section. Puente has also worked for newspapers in southern California and for Hispanic Link News Service in Washington, D.C. She is the recipient of the Studs Terkel Award from the Community Media Workshop and has published opeds in TIME, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, The Hill, The Miami Herald, Newsday, In These Times and many other media outlets. She is at work on a book about a family of five siblings growing up in Chicago in the 1970s.