Deborah Nelson is a Pulitzer prize-winning freelance journalist at

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and the Associate Professor of Investigative Reporting at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. Nelson earned her B.S. in Journalism from

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

and her J.D. from the

DePaul University College of Law DePaul University College of Law is the law school of DePaul University, a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 125 full- and part-time faculty members and enrolls more than 500 students in its Juri ...

in 1987. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Maryland in 2006, she was the Washington investigations editor for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', the national investigative team reporter for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', and a reporter for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

''. In 1997, Nelson won the

Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...

Burns, Hilliary
"The 1997 Pulitzer Prize Winners Investigative Reporting"
''pulitzerprize.org'' for her investigative work for the Seattle Times, exposing “widespread corruption and inequities in the federally-sponsored housing program for Native Americans, which inspired much-needed reforms.” In 2008, she received critical acclaim for her book, ''The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth about U.S. War Crimes'', which investigates declassified Army papers on Vietnam-era war crimes and uncovers the lives of soldiers who were witness to the crimes. Nelson currently teaches courses on investigative reporting and media law and is on the advisory boards of the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the Investigative Reporting Workshop.

Investigative Journalism

As an investigative journalist, Nelson has covered a wide range of topics, centered on exposing problems in the environment, the health industry, income inequality, and human rights violations. Her news publications also have addressed issues of misconduct in the gene therapy field and medical research in developing countries.

Pulitzer Prize

In 1997, Deborah Nelson shared the Pulitzer Prize with Eric Nalder and Alex Tizon for their ''The Seattle Times'' series that identified critical problems in the federal government's Indian Housing Program. The series, titled ''Tribal housing: From Deregulation to Disgrace'', exposes that "Across the nation - in tribe after tribe, state after state - the Indian-housing program is riddled with fraud, abuse and mismanagement." The series concludes with a five-point list of recommendations for a more effective tribal-housing program, which include the strict enforcement of rules, a mandate that requires that the bulk of federal funding to be channeled to low-income households that need assistance the most, and the creation of constraints that will prevent disproportionately large expenditures on small families. Nelson's series was crucial in initiating reform in the management of the tribal housing program. Additionally, Nelson also co-edited Pulitzer Prize-winning series for ''The Washington Post'', which covered the death of 229 children in the District of Columbia, and for the ''Los Angeles Times'' on the death of 45 Marine pilots in Harrier jet accidents.

Selected Awards in Journalism

, 1997, “Tribal Housing: From Deregulation to Disgrace,” Seattle Times * Sidney Hillman Prize for Excellence in Journalism, 2019, "Ambushed at Home," Reuters *

White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor ...

Edgar A. Poe Award, 2019,"Ambushed at Home," Reuters *

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

, 2019, "Ambushed at Home," Reuters * National Press Club Award for Consumer Journalism, 2019, "Ambushed at Home," Reuters *

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

Kavli Science Journalism Gold Award, 2017, “The Uncounted," Reuters *

Deadline Club Award for Enterprise Reporting, 2017, “The Uncounted," Reuters *

National Academies of Sciences National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Communication Award, 2015, "Water's Edge," Reuters *

, 2014, "Water's Edge" Reuters * National Press Club Award for Consumer Journalism, 2015, "Water's Edge," Reuters *

, 2001, “Body Hunters,” Washington Post *

Overseas Press Club of America The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

Award for business reporting, 2001, “Body Hunters,” Washington Post *

Award, 2000, “Gene Therapy,” Washington Post * John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, 1999, “Trading Away the West,” Seattle Times *

Women in Communications The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry.Kopecki, Dawn (1996). "Makeover gives group new identity, no staff". The Washington Times. It was formed as Theta ...

Clarion Award, 1997, “Tribal Housing: From Deregulation to Disgrace,” Seattle Times *National Housing Journalism Award, 1991, “The Slum Brokers,” Chicago Sun-Times

Recent Publications

Ambushed at Home: The hazardous, squalid housing of American military families
" Reuters (Nov. 1, Dec. 28, 2018) with Michael B. Pell.
The Uncounted: The Epidemic America is Ignoring
" Reuters (Sep. 7, Nov. 18, Dec. 15, Dec. 22, 2016) with Ryan McNeill and Yasmeen Abutaleb. *�
Water's Edge: The Crisis of Rising Sea Levels
" Reuters (Jul. 10, Sep. 4, Sep. 17, Nov. 24, 2014) with Ryan McNeill and Duff Wilson. *�
The Unequal State of America: Redistributing Up
” Reuters (Dec. 18, 2012) with Himanshu Ojha. *�
The Cruelest Show on Earth
” Mother Jones (Nov. – Dec. 2011). *The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth About U.S. War Crimes (Basic Books; 2008). *“Vietnam: The War Crimes Files,” The Los Angeles Times (Aug. 6 and 20, 2006) with Nick Turse. *“Body Hunters,” The Washington Post (Dec. 17 – 22, 2000) with a team of reporters. *“Gene Therapy,” The Washington Post (Sept. 1999 – Nov. 2000) with Rick Weiss. *“Trading Away the West,” The Seattle Times (Sept. 27 – Oct 2, 1998) with Jim Simon, Danny Westneat and Eric Nalder. *�
Tribal Housing: From Deregulation to Disgrace
” The Seattle Times (Dec. 1 – 5, 1996) with Eric Nalder and Alex Tizon. *“The Wenatchee Sex Crime Case: Evidence on Trial,” The Seattle Times (Nov. 26 – 27, 1995) with Marla Williams, Duff Wilson and Thomas Haines. *"The Slum Brokers," Chicago Sun-Times (Jun 30 – Jul 2, 1991) with Tom Brune.

References

External links

"Deborah Nelson."
Philip Merrill College of Journalism. University of Maryland, 2014. Web. *Nelson, Deborah. (2014). Curriculum Vitae. Retrieved from http://www.merrill.umd.edu/sites/default/files/Deborah%20Nelson%20CV%209-30-2014.docx {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Deborah Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women journalists Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners DePaul University alumni Northern Illinois University alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty 21st-century American women