February 24, 2010 Journalist Hoda Kotb to Deliver Women's History Month Keynote Address on March 19
Press Contact: Audrey Fischer (202) 707-0022
Public Contact: LaVerne Mattye Page (202) 707-1979
Broadcast journalist and television personality Hoda Kotb will deliver the keynote address for the Library of Congress’s month-long celebration of Women’s History Month. The event will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 19, in the Montpelier Room, located on the sixth floor of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave S.E., Washington, D.C.
Sponsored jointly by the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division and the Library of Congress Professional Association, the event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.
Hoda Kotb has co-hosted the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today Show” since the show’s debut in September 2007. A two-year breast cancer survivor, Kotb shared her story on “Today” and NBC Nightly News in October 2007.
Kotb received a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism from Virginia Tech University. She began her career with CBS News as a news assistant in Cairo, Egypt, in 1986. Before joining NBC News in 1998, she served as a reporter or news anchor for CBS and ABC affiliates throughout the country.
As a correspondent for “Dateline NBC” for more than a decade, Kotb has covered a wide variety of domestic and international stories across all NBC News platforms as well as numerous human-interest stories and features. A former resident of New Orleans, she provided in-depth coverage of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters such as the 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia. She has reported on the war in Iraq, the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Kotb conducted an exclusive interview with Aung San Suu Kyi, marking the first time in 11 years that the Burmese leader was interviewed by an American television network.
Kotb has received numerous awards for excellence in journalism. They include the 2008 Gracie Award for Individual Achievement, the 2008 Alfred I. duPont -Columbia University award and the prestigious Peabody 2006 for her “Dateline NBC” report “The Education of Ms. Groves.” The four-time Emmy nominee has won the 2004 Headliner Award, the 2003 Gracie Award and the 2002 Edward R. Murrow Award.
The Library’s extensive holdings include millions of items pertaining to women’s history and culture. In conjunction with Women’s History Month the Library will launch an online resource page on March 1 at www.womenshistorymonth.gov to highlight its collections about women and their accomplishments. The Library’s Women’s History Discussion Group will hold a meeting at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 4 in Room G-07 in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building located at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. At noon on Tuesday, March 30, the Library’s Veterans History Project will present a program “Women at War: The Women’s Army Corps During WWII” in the Pickford Theater, located on the third floor of the Library’s James Madison Building. These programs are free and open to the public.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.
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PR 10-041
2010-02-25
ISSN 0731-3527