Isha Sesay

Isha Sesay is an award-winning journalist, author, and media executive known for her comprehensive coverage of global events and her advocacy for women and girls. After a successful three-year tenure as an anchor for ‘Good Morning Sports Fans’ on Sky Sports News, Isha Sesay joined CNN International as a news anchor and correspondent in November 2005, beginning a distinguished 13-year career with the network. An award-winning journalist, Sesay earned a BA honors degree in English from Trinity College, Cambridge. Her early television career included roles as a researcher for the BBC’s ‘Kilroy’ and an on-screen debut as a TV announcer for BBC Choice.

She founded and presides over W.E. (Women Everywhere) Can Lead, an NGO established in Sierra Leone in 2014 dedicated to empowering adolescent girls. She also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In July 2019, Sesay published her book, ‘Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram’.

In 2019, she hosted ‘Becoming: an intimate conversation with Michelle Obama’ in Paris and Amsterdam (April) and co-hosted the Global Citizen Festival (September). Continuing her prominent role in global media and advocacy, Sesay became the first female CEO of OkayMedia in March 2021, a multimedia publisher focused on global Black culture. She remains a highly sought-after speaker and moderator at international events, including the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver (June 2019), Brilliant Minds event in Stockholm (2019), and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) Place for Peace event (2019). Sesay frequently discusses critical topics such as women’s empowerment, global events, and the intersection of race and gender in media.