Natasha Alford

Natasha S. Alford is an award-winning journalist, host and millennial media executive, driven by the power of storytelling to inspire and change people’s lives. As the Vice President of Digital Content and Sr. Correspondent for theGrio digital network, Natasha leads strategic creative vision and production for all original content on theGrio. Natasha is also a CNN Political Analyst, where she offers commentary on the news, politics and movements of the moment to millions of viewers weekly.

A native of Syracuse, NY, Natasha graduated from city schools and developed a passion for writing, public speaking and poetry when she was 9 years old, after winning her first oratory competition. Over time, Natasha became a news reporter at WROC-TV (News 8) in Rochester, NY. There she chronicled the local rise of Black Lives Matter, the plight of the homeless community and stories of domestic violence survivors.

Now, Natasha is known for her dynamic on-camera interviews where she probed the minds of prominent figures such as Vice President Kamala Harris, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Stacey Abrams, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem and more. Natasha was named “Emerging Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Black Journalists and she is also a Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting grantee, as well as host and executive producer of the original Amazon Prime Video documentary on Afro-Latin identity titled: ‘Afro-Latinx Revolution: Puerto Rico’ (2020).

Natasha holds a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a B.A. from Harvard University in Social Studies. In 2020, Natasha was awarded a Black Voices for Black Justice grant by the owners of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets for her racial justice work and announced the formation of a new scholarship to support aspiring journalists of color. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and National Association Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). Natasha currently resides in New York City and devotes her free time to mentoring aspiring journalists and students through The OpEd Project.