Elissa Nadworny
Elissa Nadworny reports on all things college for NPR, following big stories like unprecedented enrollment declines, college affordability, the student debt crisis and workforce training. During the 2020-2021 academic year, she traveled to dozens of campuses to document what it was like to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Her work has won several awards including a 2020 Gracie Award for a story about student parents in college, a 2018 James Beard Award for a story about the Chinese-American population in the Mississippi Delta and a 2017 Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in innovation.
Nadworny uses multiplatform storytelling – incorporating radio, print, comics, photojournalism, and video — to put students at the center of her coverage. Some favorite story adventures include crawling in the sewers below campus to test wastewater for the coronavirus, yearly deep-dives into the most popular high school plays and musicals and an epic search for the history behind her classroom skeleton.
Before joining NPR in 2014, Nadworny worked at Bloomberg News, reporting from the White House. A recipient of the McCormick National Security Journalism Scholarship, she spent four months reporting on U.S. international food aid for USA Today, traveling to Jordan to talk with Syrian refugees about food programs there.
Originally from Erie, Pa., Nadworny has a bachelor's degree in documentary film from Skidmore College and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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July 1 marks the official opening of a program that allows federal dollars to go toward short-term workforce training programs. But so far, just 12 states have created road maps for colleges to apply.
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July 1 marks the official opening of a program that allows federal dollars to go toward short-term workforce training programs. So far just 12 states have created road maps for colleges to apply. -
NPR's Elissa Nadworny speaks with former Senate parliamentarian Alan Frumin about the president's calls to remove his successor, Elizabeth MacDonough.
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Several states are loosening alcohol restrictions during the World Cup. NPR's Elissa Nadworny speaks with Corean Reynolds, Boston's Director of Nightlife Economy, about how her city is handling this.
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Two researchers — one in Massachusetts and one in Shanghai — hoped for the same breakthrough: a gene therapy for deaf children. New Chinese investment in science propelled the one who got there first. -
A stay-out-of-the-water beach read features a giant, sentient sea creature. NPR's Elissa Nadworny talks with Tessa Yang about her debut novel, "The Jelly Fish Problem."
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NPR's Elissa Nadworny speaks to retired physician Art Ulene about his plans to celebrate his 90th birthday next month by summitting Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak.
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A lady's maid and a gentleman's valet fall in love and hatch a plan to get their employers together in the new novel "A Perfect Hand." NPR's Elissa Nadworny talks with author Ayelet Waldman about it.
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Florida's controversial immigration detention center nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" may be closing soon. It's been very expensive to operate.
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NPR's Elissa Nadworny talks to reporters Ginny Monk and Dave Altimari of the Connecticut Mirror about their Pulitzer-winning investigations on predatory towing practices.
