Inspiration Of The Day:Nigerian Named Among 25 Most Influential Americans

Adaora Udoji

Television Journalist and CorrespondentIn 2009, Essence Magazine named Adaora Udoji One of The 25 Most Influential African Americans. Adaora Udoji is a Nigerian-American journalist who received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. She was born in 1969 to Godfrey and Mary Udoji who reside in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Adaora Udoji began her career with ABC News in 1995 as an off-air reporter covering legal stories including the trial of O.J. Simpson. After only one year of working with ABC News, Adaora was promoted in 1996, becoming an associate producer. In this position, Udoji worked on a documentary about death row as part of a team of individuals who received the CINE Eagle Award for the finished documentary which aired in 1997.

Udoji also covered the presidential election and the TWA 800 crash for ABC News. In 2000, she became a foreign correspondent based in London, where she reported on international stories in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In 2001, she reported from Pakistan on the war in Afghanistan. Udoji also contributed to ABC Radio, Good Morning America, and World News Weekend. She reported from Israel on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reported from the Vatican City on events related to Pope John Paul II.

Adaora began working for CNN in 2003 as a correspondent based in New York. In this position, she reported on a variety of high profile stories including Hurricane Katrina, another presidential election, and the West Virginia Sago mine disaster. She also reported on the Iraq war from Iraq and the Persian Gulf in 2003. She was on the CNN news team that won the network a Peabody Award for their coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Udoji was named as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow in 2005, and was recognized in 2002 by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for her coverage of the war in Afghanistan. She was awarded The Forty Under Forty Achievement Statute by the Network Journal and in 2007 was made an Honoree for the World Diversity Leadership Conference held by the United Nations. This incredibly successful and influential woman currently resides with her husband and daughter in New Jersey.