Maureen Bunyan is a broadcast news pioneer and a champion for equity and diversity in journalism.

She retired from a broadcast news career in 2018 after nearly a half century as a reporter, producer and lead television news anchor.

Bunyan spent most of her career in Washington, DC, where she worked for WUSA9 (21 years ), for ABC7 (19 years), as well as for NPR and PBS. During her career, she reported from Latin America and the Caribbean, from Africa and Asia. She was also the host of two weekly public affairs programs. She has interviewed national and international figures, including President Barack Obama, Premier Fidel Castro and Prime Minister Robert Mugabe.

Bunyan has been awarded major honors in her field, among them, seven Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She has been inducted into the Academy’s Hall of Fame, as well as the halls of fame of the National Association of Black Journalists, of the International Women’s Media Foundation and of the District of Columbia.

In 1975, Bunyan joined 43 colleagues to create the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). The organization currently serves a membership of 4,400 Black Journalists around the world.

In 1985, Bunyan and five other women journalists, created the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). The organization is now the premier group serving women journalists through training programs and protecting those who are under fire for their reporting.

Bunyan has served as a trustee of many nonprofit organizations, including the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation, the Tuskegee University and the International Women’s Media Foundation.

In recognition of her contributions to the community, Bunyan has been inducted into the Order of Orange-Nassau, a Dutch chivalric order. She has also been named a Washingtonian of the Year and awarded three honorary degrees, including from Howard University.

Bunyan attended the University of Wisconsin and holds a Master’s Degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She was also part of a special program at the Columbia University School of Journalism.

She was born in Aruba of Guyanese parents. Her family emigrated to southeastern Wisconsin when she a child.