CELESTE HEADLEE
Journalist
NPR
Author
We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter
Celeste Headlee is an award-winning journalist who has appeared on NPR, PBS World, PRI, CNN, BBC and other international networks. She has been honored by the Associated Press and SPJ, selected twice to be a Getty/Annenberg Journalism Fellow, and selected as a fellow with the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources. She was also among the first fellows in Reporting on Native Stories for National Native News.
After four years as the Executive Producer of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Radio, Celeste is back as a guest host with National Public Radio in Washington DC. In her 19-year career with NPR, she has anchored shows including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. She also served as co-host of the national morning news show, The Takeaway, from PRI and WNYC, and anchored presidential coverage in 2012 for PBS World Channel.
Through her work, she has learned the true power of conversation and its ability to both bridge gaps or deepen wounds. Celeste’s TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation was listed as one of the most watched TED Talks in 2016 by CNBC and named the #1 must-watch TED Talk by Glassdoor with 12.5 million total views to date.
Vocal in her support of her grandfather, William Grant Still, Celeste was the editor of the second edition of the book, William Grant Still and the Fusion of Cultures in American Music, for which she compiled the first complete thematic catalog of Still’s works.