Isha Sesay is a former anchor and correspondent for CNN, having appeared on programs across CNN International and CNN/U.S. She also founded Women Everywhere Can Lead, a non-profit working to nurture and encourage teenage girls to become the next generation of leaders.

A seasoned journalist, Sesay has covered numerous breaking news and world news events. Having covered the 2008 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver, Colorado, she traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, to report from the 2012 DNC as part of CNNI’s coverage of the U.S. presidential race. In 2012 she also led CNNI’s coverage of the United Nations General Assembly from New York, securing interviews with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

Sesay is currently putting the finishing touches on her first book, which details the mass abduction of the 276 Nigerian schoolgirls by the Boko Haram terror group in 2014. Their plight generated countless headlines around the world and the hashtag, #BringBackOurgirls. Harper Collins will publish the as-yet unnamed title, next year. In 2011, she played an integral role in CNN/U.S. and CNNI’s joint coverage of major global news events including the protests in Egypt, Japan’s nuclear reactor crisis, the fall of Tripoli and the trial of Amanda. As part of her anchoring and reporting duties, Sesay has interviewed a number of world leaders including Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga; President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal; President Lech Kaczynski of Poland; Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; and President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone.

A Briton of Sierra Leonean parentage, she holds a BA honors English degree from Trinity College, Cambridge University.