2024 Book and Journalism Awards Special Guest Presenters

Margaret Engel directs the Alicia Patterson Journalism Foundation, which gives grants to journalists in the name of Alicia Patterson, the founder of Newsday.

Kerry Kennedy is President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. A human rights activist and lawyer, she authored New York Times best seller Being Catholic Now, as well as Speak Truth to Power and Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope.

Kimberly Adams is host and correspondent covering the intersection of politics and the economy for NPR’s Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Tech.

Annette Gordon-Reed is an American historian and law professor. She is currently the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History, Harvard Law School and Professor of History, Harvard University.

Van Jones is widely known as a U.S. media personality, an entrepreneur and a world-class change maker.

Rory Kennedy is an Academy Award-nominated, Primetime Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Kennedy’s work includes DOWNFALL: The Case Against Boeing (Netflix), Last Days in Vietnam (PBS), Ethel (HBO), and Take Every Wave (IFC), all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Arantxa Loizaga is a news anchor for the Univision current affairs program Noticiero Univision - Fin de Semana.

Craig Melvin is an award-winning news anchor on NBC News’ “TODAY,” a co-host of 3rd Hour TODAY, anchor of MSNBC's "Craig Melvin Reports," and a host of “Dateline.” His breaking news coverage and reporting appears across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms.

Natalie Morales is a journalist who is currently a co-host and moderator of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk.

Amna Nawaz is a broadcast journalist and a co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour.

Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning documentarian, journalist, speaker, author, and philanthropist, who founded Soledad O’Brien Productions, a multi-platform media production company dedicated to telling empowering and authentic stories on a range of social issues.

Symone D. Sanders is a political strategist and commentator. She served as national press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential campaign.