Alissa J. Rubin facts for kids

Alissa Johannsen Rubin is an American journalist who has won a Pulitzer Prize. She works for The New York Times as their main reporter in Baghdad, Iraq. Alissa has spent a lot of her career reporting from places where there have been wars, like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans region. She helps people understand what is happening in these important areas.

About Alissa J. Rubin

Alissa Johannsen Rubin was born and grew up in New York City, USA. She went to Brown University and finished her studies in 1980. She earned a special degree in something called renaissance studies, which is about a time in history when art and learning became very popular again.

Later, she received a special scholarship, called a Mellon Fellowship. This helped her study at Columbia University. She earned her master's degree there in 1986.

Her Work as a Journalist

In 1997, Alissa Rubin started working for the Los Angeles Times newspaper. For this paper, she reported from many different countries. She covered important events in Iraq, Afghanistan, France, and the Balkans.

In August 2007, Alissa joined The New York Times. She became a senior reporter in their office in Baghdad, Iraq. In 2009, she moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, to lead The Times' office there. This meant she was in charge of all the news reporting from that area.

Reporting from Dangerous Places

Alissa Rubin has often reported from very risky places. On August 16, 2014, she was seriously hurt in a helicopter crash. This happened while she was reporting on the war in northern Iraq. Even though she had many broken bones, she was still able to tell her story of the accident. The crash sadly killed the helicopter's pilot. Other people were also hurt, including Vian Dakhil, a politician from Iraq.

Awards and Recognition

Alissa Rubin has won several important awards for her journalism.

Pulitzer Prize Winner

In 2016, she won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. This is one of the highest awards a journalist can receive. She won it for her detailed and touching stories about women in Afghanistan. These stories showed the terrible things some women there were forced to go through. Her reporting helped give these women a voice.

John Chancellor Award

In 2015, she also won the John Chancellor Award. This award came from the Columbia Journalism School. It recognized her 35 years of reporting from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. This award celebrated her long and important career.