Soledad O’Brien, the anchor of CNN’s morning news program Starting Point, will deliver a keynote address on Friday, November 9. Members of the campus community and the public are invited to this free event.

O’Brien’s talk launches MHC’s 2012 Black Alumnae Conference and is also a special feature of the College’s 175th anniversary celebration. MHC first opened its doors to students on November 8, 1837, and is celebrating that event and its women of influence throughout the 2012-2013 academic year.

In “Women of Influence: Reaching Out to the Next Generation,” O’Brien will share her journey to international success and describe how she uses her own influence to draw new voices into the public conversation. Her lecture starts at 7 pm in Chapin Auditorium of Mary Woolley Hall; doors will open at 6:30 pm.

O’Brien, an award-winning journalist with 20 years experience working for NBC and CNN, has anchored Starting Point since its premiere in January 2012. Previously she cohosted CNN’s American Morning from 2003 to 2007. She began her career as an associate producer and news writer at the then-NBC affiliate WBZ-TV in Boston.

O’Brien won an Emmy Award in 2011 for co-hosting the Discovery Channel’s The Know Zone, and in 2007 she was honored with the NAACP President’s Award. In 2010, she wrote her memoir, The Next Big Story: My Journey through the Land of Possibilities, which chronicles her biggest reporting moments and how her upbringing and background have influenced these experiences. O’Brien is a graduate of Harvard University and lives with her husband and four children in Manhattan.

MHC’s 2012 Black Alumnae Conference, which takes place November 9–11, explores activism through the theme “Claiming Our Legacy, Making Our Mark.”

O’Brien’s visit to MHC is sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of the Dean of the College.

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