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Andrea Koppel    

Award-winning, Internationally Renowned Journalist

Andrea Koppel is an award-winning, internationally renowned journalist with more than two decades of experience covering many of the biggest stories and events in the U.S. and across the globe. For the last 14 years she worked as a correspondent for CNN reporting from diverse posts, from Africa to China, covering three secretaries of state and two presidents. Koppel brings her experience in the field, and her journalistic prowess, to shed light on American policies and domestic issues, as well as on issues that impact the world at large.

In December 2003, Koppel - at the time eight months pregnant - was the first to secure a coveted exclusive interview with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, during which he publicly announced his country would shut down its program to develop weapons of mass destruction. She spent 10 days in Libya - much of that time as the only U.S. journalist allowed in.

Over the course of her career Koppel secured numerous other exclusive interviews with world leaders such as China's former President Jiang Zemin before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and President Lee Teng-hui, after he became Taiwan's first democratically elected president. She also reported extensively on Arab-Israeli peace talks between 1998-2006 including the Wye River, Shepherdstown, and Camp David II negotiations.

Over the years Koppel has consistently set herself apart from her peers with in-depth reporting and enlightening interviews with world leaders, politicians, dissidents and social activists. She speaks with authority and aplomb about the current state of culture, across the continents and brings her vast knowledge and integrity as a reporter to every presentation.

Speech Topics


Journalism, 101

A professional journalist for more the 20 years, Koppel has watched the evolution of the media - from the advent of cable television to the dawn of the digital era's bloggers, Youtube streams and citizen journalists. She discusses the ramification of these changes on the quality of the news we consume.

Getting to know Hu

China has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and its impact on the US reaches into just about every corner of our lives: from the toys we buy our children, to the clothing we wear, to the drugs our doctors prescribe us, to price of gas at the pump, the air we breathe, the foreign policy our government tries to push forward. In essence, China is fast becoming a growing part of our lives. As someone who has covered the country for decades - and lived there - first in the mid-80s, then in the mid-90s during the country's economic and technological boom, Koppel shares her personal experiences in this complex country and details its future impact on the U.S.

Cracking the Code

Andrea Koppel discusses how journalists works to get the media to cover the stories they want them to cover; how to ace the toughest interviews; and how to weather the storm when the media latches on to a story you want to bury. This presentation is founded on journalistic integrity and the pursuit of the First Amendment.

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