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Lisa Ling            

Award-Winning Journalist & Producer for CBS News

Lisa Ling is an American journalist, television personality, and author. Ling joined CBS News in 2023 after 15 years with CNN, where she hosted "This Is Life with Lisa Ling" from 2014-2022.

For five seasons, Ling served as executive producer and host of "Our America" on OWN. She also worked as a field correspondent for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and a contributor to ABC News' "Nightline." In these roles, she reported from dozens of countries, covering critical issues such as gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India, and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, with a focus on stories that are too often ignored. Additionally, Ling hosted "Take Out" on Max, exploring Asian-American history through the lens of food.

Ling was the first female host of National Geographic’s flagship show "Explorer," reporting on topics like female suicide bombing, the spread of the MS-13 gang, and the humanitarian crisis inside North Korea.

Ling began her journalism career at Channel One News, where she covered the civil war in Afghanistan at the age of 21. She later co-hosted ABC Daytime's "The View," which won its first Daytime Emmy during her tenure.

She is the co-author of "Mother, Sister, Daughter, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood" and "Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and The Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home," both written with her sister Laura. Ling has also hosted a video journalism series "The Secret Lives of Seniors" and reported on the mental healthcare revolution in the series "Psychedelic Renaissance."

In 2014, President Obama appointed Ling to the Commission on White House Fellows. She is an advisory board member for Fostering Media Connections, The Amani Project, and a Baby2Baby angel.

Ling resides in Santa Monica with her husband Paul Song and daughters Jett and Ray.

Speech Topics


Open Heart Open Mind

In today's culture of sound bite news, many important issues get overlooked, if they get covered at all. Lisa Ling has dedicated herself to shedding light on stories impacting the world in which we live. In her presentations, complete with a lively Q&A session, Lisa shares stories from her over 20-year career in media that have profoundly affected her outlook on life. Her hope is that through her experiences people may be provoked to think about things differently and allow themselves to expand their horizons.

The Importance of a Global Perspective

Lisa recounts stories that profoundly changed her life and talks about how travel and going beyond one's comfort zone is wholly transformative, making one smarter, more well-rounded, and more marketable.

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