NPR hires Yousef as national security correspondent

The following note was sent to NPR staff by chief national editor Vickie Walton-James and Andrew Sussman, supervising editor, national security:

Colleagues,

We’re pleased to announce that Odette Yousef will join NPR as National Security Correspondent focusing on Extremism. Odette has been a reporter at WBEZ since 2010, as part of the Race, Class and Communities team. As part of that beat, Odette has delved deeply into the inner workings of local communities, including the forces at play in the rise of domestic extremism.

Odette has won local, state and national awards for her journalism, including a 2016 National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Continuing Coverage, and a 2018 Studs Terkel Community Media Award. Of her departure from WBEZ, Chief Content Officer Tracy Brown said Odette’s “groundbreaking reporting on extremism, the care she’s given covering communities throughout Chicago, and her versatility as a reporter, on-air host and anchor, have made her a treasure at WBEZ.”

Prior to joining WBEZ, Odette was a reporter at WABE in Atlanta. In addition, she once interned for the National Desk, worked as an editorial assistant at Talk of the Nation, and spent time as Daniel Schorr’s assistant!

We’re thrilled to welcome Odette back to NPR. Her first day will be Monday, August 30^th.

Thanks,

Vickie and Andrew