Maria Hinojosa

Emmy-Winning & Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist

Maria Hinojosa

Emmy-Winning & Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist

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Biography

As a reporter who was the first Latina in many newsrooms, Maria Hinojosa dreamt of a space where she could create independent, multimedia journalism that explores and gives a critical voice to the diverse American experience. She made that dream a reality in 2010 when she created Futuro Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom based in Harlem, NYC with the mission to create multimedia content from a POC perspective. Futuro does this in the service of empowering people to navigate the complexities of an increasingly diverse and connected world. Hinojosa’s Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast, “Suave”, focuses on her relationship with David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez, in addition to telling the story of thousands of other people sentenced to die in prison for a crime they committed as a minor. “Suave” is gut-wrenching, deeply personal and full of heart.

As the Anchor and Executive Producer of the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, distributed by NPR, as well as Co-Host of In The Thick, the Futuro Media’s award-winning political podcast, Hinojosa has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad. Her new book, Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America, Hinojosa tells the story of immigration in America through her family’s experiences and decades of reporting, painting an unflinching portrait of a country in crisis. She is also a contributor to the long-running, award-winning news program CBS Sunday Morning and a MSNBC Contributor.

Hinojosa’s nearly 30-year career as an award-winning journalist includes reporting for PBS, CBS, WNBC, CNN, NPR and anchoring the Emmy Award-winning talk show from WGBH Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One. She is the author of two books and has won dozens of awards, including: four Emmys, the John Chancellor Award, the Studs Terkel Community Media Award, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club and the Ruben Salazar Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAHJ. She has been honored with her own day in October in New York City and has been recognized by People En Español as one of the 25 most powerful Latina women. Additionally, Hinojosa was the first Latina to anchor a PBS FRONTLINE report: “Lost in Detention,” which aired in October 2011 and was the first to explore abuse at immigrant detention facilities, garnering attention from Capitol Hill as well as both the mainstream and Spanish-language media.

As a reporter for NPR, Hinojosa was among the first to report on youth violence in urban communities on a national scale. During her eight years as CNN’s urban affairs correspondent, Hinojosa often took viewers into communities rarely shown on television and continued that work longform on Now on PBS. At Futuro Media, Hinojosa continues to bring attention to experiences and points of view that are often overlooked or underreported in mainstream media, all while mentoring the next generation of diverse journalists to delve into authentic and nuanced stories. She is the author of four books: Crews, Raising Raul, Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America, and The Young Reader's version of her memoir Once I Was You. These days her focus is deep accountability investigative journalism.

In 2018 she was a Fellow at Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and is a frequent speaker across the country. In 2019, she was named the inaugural Distinguished Journalist in Residence at her Alma Mater, Barnard College. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

Speaker Videos

From Invisible to Visible

Pulitzer from Decades of Work

An evening with award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa

Journalism is Of Service and Of Mission

USA v. Garcia Luna

On Being a Powerful Latina in the Media | PBS NewsHour

On Latinas and Mental Health

Owning Your Voice

The Future of Democracy

La Lucha: The Struggle for One Day

We Have to Own Our Voice

Immigrants are the Character and Face of America

Journalist Schools Trump Advisor Who Used The Term 'Illegals'

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Speech Topics

Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love & Hate in a Torn America

Maria Hinojosa is an award-winning journalist who has collaborated with the most respected networks and is known for bringing humanity to her reporting. Maria understands firsthand how social determinants can influence and damage lives and communities. In this keynote, she relates the history of U.S. immigration policy that has brought us to where we are today, as she shares her deeply personal story to help elevate the conversation around disparities, hoping to make a difference in lives now and for future generations, because this affects all Americans.

Based on her book, Once I Was You, Maria offers a personal and eye-opening account of how the rhetoric around immigration has not only long informed American attitudes toward outsiders, but also enabled willful negligence and profiteering at the expense of our country’s most vulnerable populations—charging us with the broken system we have today.

Owning Your Voice

For award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa, it was a lesson taught to her by her mom, who stood up to a burly immigration agent to make sure all of her children were admitted into the United States from Mexico. No matter what you’re up against, own your voice, she said. It’s an example Hinojosa has used throughout her career—often she was the only Latina in a newsroom and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind—and teaches to her students at Barnard College, where she is the school’s first journalist in residence. It’s also the lesson that led her from an intern to a full-time journalist at NPR to CNN to PBS to her own national media company, Futuro Media. In this insightful keynote, Hinojosa shares her deeply personal story of how being different from everyone else can be your greatest strength by using your own narrative. “In our worst moments, we have to imagine that we can, in fact, take hold of our own power and eat our fear … Use your own voice, your own narrative and the power that you have,” she says.

Latinos in the Media

Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic in our country, but the growth in numbers brings many challenges. Award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa talks about a phenomenon she calls “The US Mambo—Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back.” For example, while Latinos represent a trillion-dollar consumer market, more Latinos have been deported than at any other time in history. While Sofia Vergara is the highest-paid actress on TV, Latina teens have the highest rate of attempted suicide in the U.S. And while the number of Latino high school students taking the ACTs grew by 90 percent in the last five years, the city of Syracuse has a Latino dropout rate of 65 percent. The losers in this equation are not all Latinos: given the future of this country will be increasingly Latino, what happens to this population will have a direct impact on the future of this country. This has to matter to all of us.

Frontlines: Latinos & Immigration from a Woman's Perspective

One of the most prominent Latina journalists and female leaders in our country, Maria Hinojosa has been covering major stories for over 20 years. In this insightful and engaging presentation, she speaks about her experiences covering immigration for NPR and PBS. As a woman and a mother, she has a particular interest in how immigration is impacting the mental health of Latinas and their families. She also speaks about how Latinos and Latinas are now the new face of the civil rights movement in our country.

Eliminating Disparities

Hear Maria Hinojosa discuss how we can eliminate healthcare disparities, the importance of diversity in the workforce, health literacy and cultural competency. Maria’s wealth of experiences and knowledge she brings from her over 30 years as a journalist, as well as other projects she has worked on throughout her career, will illuminate the need for change.

Testimonials

"Maria is a master storyteller. Equal parts poignant and inspiring, her message of hope and humanity lifted up our audience of frontline healthcare workers and paid tribute to their commitment and the sacrifices that they make each and every day."

- Northwest Regional Primary Care Association

"Maria was incredible. She immediately connected with our students and their connection only continued to grow."

- iMentor

"Maria's talk was SO well received. Her work, her books, and our zoom conversation -- have all changed me, broken, mended, and opened my heart, and I am so appreciative. Many of our conference attendees told me this was the highlight for them of the conference, so ZOOM did NOT matter! She reached people deeply, and books flew off our shelf. And people who have always thought of themselves as educated on these issues and involved said they realized they do not know or do enough and committed themselves to action. We are so grateful to her for being with us and contributing her whole self in such a powerful and impactful way, instilling in people much-needed education, language, consciousness, and hope. Her call to action was mobilizing."

- Omega Institute

"Maria was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. The participants really enjoyed her comments and insight."

- Movement Is Life

"The event was a huge success! Our students enjoy themselves and faculty was really excited about her visit. She is such a lovely person, very down to earth and took the time to get everyone’s name at the reception. Thank you for suggesting her for our campus!"

- Hudson County Community College

"We received a great deal of positive feedback from the audience, many of whom were personally moved by her commitment to issues related to migration, immigration and the faces of our changing communities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. We would certainly recommend Maria as a presenter for any organization that is focused on addressing the needs of rapidly changing communities; the understanding of patterns of migration and immigration; social justice and equity issues; and global leadership."

- YMCA of USA

"I wanted to thank you for helping us with Maria Hinojosa. She had a great attitude, very professional, confidant, and was just a dynamic speaker. We had her speak at three events and two of them received standing ovations. The audiences at the charity ball would not let Maria leave even after speaking; they followed her down the hall trying to thank her. Thanks again for all your help and guidance."

- Giant Creative Services

"Maria Hinojosa was marvelous. She was articulate and inspiring. In her first venue, which included a good group of almost 275 students, faculty, staff, and members of the community, Maria held the attention of the audience for almost an hour with her captivating anecdotes and discussion of her journey through her career in broadcast journalism. Later with our small gathering at lunch and the group of students and staff, Maria was again candid, provocative, and visionary. Faculty and students are still commenting to me about how dynamic yet approachable she was throughout the day. She was an excellent choice to start our lecture series for this year."

- Saint Phillips College-San Antonio, TX

"She was a delightful and gracious guest, and the audience (about 415 people) loved her. In addition to her public lecture, she also gave a taped 30-minute TV interview for our program “UO Today," visited our local NPR-affiliate radio station, and met with a group of students for an informal coffee conversation about her work. She was very generous with her time."

- University of Oregon