Debbie Elliott, NPR Biography
Congressional Correspondent
Debbie Elliott was named NPR's Congressional Correspondent in September 2007. She moved to the Capitol to after two years hosting NPR's All Things Considered on the weekends. In that role she interviewed a variety of people including historian John Hope Franklin, the children's book author Eric Carle, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Iraq Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.
Prior to her hosting position, Elliott covered the Gulf Coast region as a correspondent for NPR News. Since joining NPR in 1995, Elliott has covered the re-opening of civil-rights-era murder cases, the legal battle over the Ten Commandments at the Alabama Supreme Court, the Elian Gonzales custody dispute from Miami, local homeland security initiatives, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and a number of hurricanes, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She has been a part of NPR series on climate change, girls and the juvenile justice system, and the 50th anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education.
In addition to covering news from around the Southeast, Elliott was NPR's specialist on tobacco litigation. She has covered landmark smoker lawsuits, the tobacco settlement with states, tobacco-control policy, and the latest trends in youth smoking.
Elliott also contributes to NPR's ongoing, in-depth political coverage. Elliott was stationed in Tallahassee, Florida, for election night in 2000, and was one of the first national reporters on the scene for the contentious presidential election contest that followed. During the 1998 elections, she traveled up Interstate 65 from Mobile to Indiana for a series of conversations with voters.
In addition to her work with NPR, Elliott has filed reports for the BBC, the CBC, and the former Monitor Radio.
A graduate of the University of Alabama College of Communication, Elliott first worked in public radio during college. She hosted local news breaks during NPR's Morning Edition at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she eventually became news director. She served on the national Board of Public Radio News Directors, Incorporated, and helped coordinate the 1994 Public Radio Journalism Conference that led to publication of Independence and Integrity: A Guidebook for Public Radio Journalism. She was recognized as the 2000 Outstanding Alumna in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Alabama College of Communication.
Elliott was born in Atlanta and grew up in the Memphis area. When she's not covering Capitol Hill, she spends time with her husband and two children.
