Biography
Gwen Ifill was moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent and co-anchor for "PBS NewsHour." She was also frequently asked to moderate debates in national elections, most recently the vice presidential debates during the 2008 and 2004 elections.
Ifill joined both "Washington Week" and "NewsHour" in 1999, interviewing newsmakers and reporting on issues ranging from foreign affairs to politics. In 2009, "Washington Week with Gwen Ifill" was honored with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award. In 2010, Ifill received the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award.
Before coming to PBS, Ifill spent five years at NBC News as chief congressional and political correspondent. Ifill joined NBC News from The New York Times, where she covered the White House and politics. She also covered national and local affairs for The Washington Post, Baltimore Evening Sun and Boston Herald American.
Ifill was the author of "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," which was published in 2009 by Doubleday. She received more than 15 honorary doctorates and was the recipient of several broadcasting excellence awards, including honors from Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center, the National Press Foundation, the Ford Hall Forum, the Radio Television News Directors Association and American Women in Radio and Television.
A native of New York City and a graduate of Simmons College in Boston, Ifill was a lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and serves on the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists and the News Literacy Project.
Ifill passed away on November 14, 2016.