Pam Fessler
Pam Fessler is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, where she covers poverty, philanthropy, and voting issues.
In her reporting at NPR, Fessler does stories on homelessness, hunger, affordable housing, and income inequality. She reports on what non-profit groups, the government, and others are doing to reduce poverty and how those efforts are working. Her poverty reporting was recognized with a 2011 First Place National Headliner Award.
Fessler also covers elections and voting, including efforts to make voting more accessible, accurate, and secure. She has done countless stories on everything from the debate over state voter identification laws to Russian hacking attempts and long lines at the polls.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Fessler became NPR's first Homeland Security correspondent. For seven years, she reported on efforts to tighten security at ports, airports, and borders, and the debate over the impact on privacy and civil rights. She also reported on the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, The 9/11 Commission Report, Social Security, and the Census. Fessler was one of NPR's White House reporters during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Before becoming a correspondent, Fessler was the acting senior editor on the Washington Desk and NPR's chief election editor. She coordinated all network coverage of the presidential, congressional, and state elections in 1996 and 1998. In her more than 25 years at NPR, Fessler has also been deputy Washington Desk editor and Midwest National Desk editor.
Earlier in her career, she was a senior writer at Congressional Quarterly magazine. Fessler worked there for 13 years as both a reporter and editor, covering tax, budget, and other news. She also worked as a budget specialist at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and was a reporter at The Record newspaper in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Fessler has a master's of public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree from Douglass College in New Jersey.
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The former first lady made a mark with her "Just Say No" campaign and her support of stem-cell research, which she hoped would lead to a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease that took away her husband. -
There's no dancing or passing the hat at these new rent parties. There is music — and online fundraising. Recently, a classical violinist played a concert in an Annapolis apartment to help the tenant. -
John and Katrina Vowell used their small savings to start Major Chords for Minors in Saginaw, Mich., because they were worried about the city's youth. Now they have 130 students and a long wait list. -
Over 560,000 people lived on the street or in homeless shelters this year — a 2 percent drop, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Still, many say the numbers are unreliable. -
Omar Shekhey left engineering to start a nonprofit that helps refugees navigate their new lives near Atlanta. He also drives a cab — and often gives the money to families to help them settle in. -
The police shooting in New York occurred outside a public housing project that's had an increase in crime. Some are trying to reduce violence and debunk myths about those who live in public housing.
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Residents of Martin County, Ky., where President Johnson traveled to promote his War on Poverty in 1964, say they need jobs more than government aid. -
In 1964, President Johnson traveled to Martin County, Ky., to try to sell his "war on poverty" to the American public. What residents say they need now is steady work. -
The Obama administration's Social Innovation Fund has spent millions to help scores of nonprofits develop innovative solutions to pressing social problems. While participating groups say they're helping thousands of people, it's not yet clear what the government is getting for its money. -
The number of poor people living in America's suburbs now surpasses those in cities or rural areas. Long focused on the urban poor, social service agencies are now trying to respond to the basic needs of a much more far-flung population.
