Humanitarian Award Goes To Soledad O'Brien

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has awarded CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien the Goodermote Humanitarian Award for her efforts while reporting on the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Asian Tsunami. O'Brien was presented with the award at a ceremony at the Bloomberg School of Public Health on November 18.

"Ms. O'Brien has shown the world tragedies of human conflict, natural disasters, chronic and infectious diseases," said Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, Dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"In addition to focusing attention on the people impacted, she has shed a light on how humanitarian efforts can help alleviate suffering and where current efforts have fallen short. Ms. O'Brien has challenged all of us to think and act in ways that offer humanitarian answers to the problems of the moment and the problems of the century, including public health issues."

Since joining CNN in 2003, O'Brien has received much attention for her documentary work with CNN's "Special Investigations Unit." She has produced in-depth reports on the plight of people coping with disaster including "Children of the Storm," which provided video cameras to young Katrina survivors so they could tell their stories in their own words and images. In addition, O'Brien's reporting included a news making interview with former FEMA chief Michael Brown on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and she actively covered the effects of the 2004 tsunami on the people of Phuket, Thailand.

As part of CNN's political team, she also played a role in their extensive coverage of the 2008 presidential election.

Her series "Black in America" explored the current state of Black America 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The Goodermote Humanitarian award was established by Dean Goodermote and the Goodermote family to support the Bloomberg School's training and education mission and to honor the commitment of the School's alumni to advancing public health worldwide. Dean Goodermote, chief executive officer of Double-Take Software, chairs the advisory committee of the Bloomberg School's Center for Refugee and Disaster Response. The Goodermote award is the Bloomberg School of Public Health's first humanitarian honor. In addition to the award, the Goodermote family has established a scholarship for students studying international health who are committed to addressing the needs of displaced people and to furthering the mission of the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response.