Insightful. Trustworthy. Relaxed, yet rigorous. They all come to mind when you hear Michele Norris, who for a decade graced the airwaves as the first African-American female host of NPR’s longest-running program, All Things Considered. Perhaps you also heard and saw her very recently when she interviewed former First lady Michelle Obama during her “Becoming” book tour.

Her well of experience includes in-depth profiles, interviews, and series for NPR News programs, as well as special reports for National Geographic Magazine, Time Magazine, ABC News, and Lifetime Television. She also served as a reporter for ABC News’ Washington bureau, and staff writer at The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and The Los Angeles Times.

Michele’s work has garnered some of journalism’s highest honors – including an Emmy Award, two  Peabody Awards, and recognition as “Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Black Journalists.

She founded the The Race Card Project  in 2010 to evoke candid and often uncomfortable discussions about race and culture in America by encouraging people to share their observations and experiences in one six-word sentence. That Peabody Award-winning project led to the creation of the Aspen Institute’s new program on race, identity and inclusion, The Bridge, which Michele heads as Director.

Michele will take the Main Stage at Upswell Chicago this November to challenge us to engage across difference, race, inclusion, and identity, and use what we hear and learn to initiate and inspire change.

More on Norris:

• A conversation with former NPR host Michele Norris (2019)
• Michele Norris thought ‘no one wanted to talk about race, and I was wrong’ (2018)
• Michele Norris On The Anxiety Of White America And Her Optimism For The Future (2018)
• Norris’ family secrets led to insight into race in America (2014)