Isha Sesay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Isha Sesay
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Isha Sesay (right) and Nima Elbagir (left) at the 2015 Peabody Awards
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| Born |
Isha Isatu Sesay
6 January 1976 London, England
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| Education | English |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | News presenter journalist |
| Years active | 1998–present |
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Notable credit(s)
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HLN CNN CNN International Sky Sports News ITN BBC W.E. Can Lead |
| Relatives | Kadi Sesay (mother) |
Isha Isatu Sesay (born 6 January 1976) is a British journalist. Her family comes from Sierra Leone. From 2005 to 2018, she worked as a news anchor and reporter for CNN International. She was based in Atlanta, Georgia, and later in Los Angeles, California. There, she hosted news shows like CNN Newsroom Live from Los Angeles. She also presented the 360 Bulletin on Anderson Cooper 360°. In 2012, Sesay also joined HLN. She left CNN in 2018 to focus on helping African girls get an education through a project called W.E. Can Lead. She also wanted to write a book and work on other personal projects.
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Early Life and School
Isha Sesay was born in London, England, in 1976. Her parents were from Sierra Leone. When she was seven, she moved back to Sierra Leone with her family. She grew up there, following the Muslim faith. Isha has an older sister and a younger brother.
Her mother, Dr. Kadi Sesay, was a university lecturer. In 1992, Dr. Sesay became an advisor to the government. Isha's father worked as a legal advisor. He passed away in 1988.
Isha went to school in Freetown, Sierra Leone. At age 16, in 1992, she moved to the UK for more schooling. After finishing her A-levels, she got into Trinity College, Cambridge. There, she studied English. While studying, she worked as a waitress. She first wanted to be an actress, but then decided to become a television journalist. In her last year of college, she started looking for jobs in media.
Her Career in News
Starting in TV
After college, Isha Sesay began her TV career at the BBC. She started as an unpaid helper for a talk show called Kilroy. Later, she was hired full-time. In 1998, she moved to Glasgow to work for BBC Scotland. She then got her first job as a TV announcer on BBC Choice. She presented many shows for the BBC, CNN, and TWI before joining Sky in 2002.
Working at Sky and ITN
At Sky, Sesay spent over three years as an anchor on Good Morning Sports Fans for Sky Sports News. She enjoyed meeting famous people like boxer Michael Watson and sailor Ellen MacArthur. She also traveled with the Arsenal football team. Later, she moved to ITN, where she anchored the ITV Morning News and read the news on GMTV.
Her Time at CNN
In November 2005, Sesay became a news anchor and reporter at CNN International. She was based at CNN's main office in Atlanta, United States. She traveled to Nigeria in 2007 to report on the presidential election. She interviewed the outgoing president and the new president. Later that year, she covered the launch of the Global Elders in South Africa.
She hosted several news shows at CNN. In 2009, she hosted International Desk. In 2011, she became the presenter of BackStory. In 2012, BackStory became a weekend show, and Sesay became the anchor of a new show called CNN NewsCenter.
Besides her work on CNN International, Sesay also contributed to Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN. She presented the 360 Bulletin starting in 2011. The next year, she also became a presenter on Evening Express on HLN. She is now based in Los Angeles.
Leaving CNN
On August 2, 2018, Isha Sesay announced she was leaving CNN after 13 years. She said one reason was that the media focused too much on the U.S. President Donald Trump. Sesay said she would write a book about the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria. She also planned to continue working on African issues.
W.E. Can Lead
| Established | 2014 |
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| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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Staff
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Sharon Debary, Natalie Au, Robin Cutshaw, Stacey Brice Washington, William Asiko, Judithe Registre, Iris Kargbo, Rosaline Kargbo, Haja Koroma |
In 2014, Sesay started W.E. Can Lead. This is a non-profit organization that helps African girls get an education. The goal is to help them become future leaders. In 2018, the program mostly worked with girls from Nigeria. However, it is open to girls from all over Africa.
The program has two parts. First, girls learn basic skills like managing money, thinking critically, and staying healthy. They also learn to build self-esteem and self-awareness. After one year, they can apply for the Young Leader development program. Girls who don't get a spot can still attend yearly camps and listen to inspiring speakers. The program also helps with money for school fees, uniforms, and supplies. In August 2018, over 600 girls aged 12 to 18 were part of the program.
In 2017, actor Idris Elba helped raise money for W.E. Can Lead. They worked together again in 2019 to raise more funds.
Other Activities Since 2018
Since leaving CNN, Isha Sesay has worked as a freelance presenter and speaker.
She partnered with Bellanaija and AWB for a series called “#ENDSARS: The Struggle to Save Nigeria.” This series looked into a youth-led movement in Nigeria.
In January 2019, Sesay co-hosted the Aiteo CAF Awards in Dakar, Senegal.
In June 2018, she led a discussion about the documentary Youth unstoppable. This film is about the youth movement for the environment.
For World Refugee Day in 2018, Sesay spoke with Samantha Nutt. Nutt founded War Child the USA, an organization that helps children in war zones.
In April 2019, Sesay hosted a public discussion with Michelle Obama. This event, called Becoming: an intimate conversation with Michelle Obama, took place in Paris and Amsterdam.
Her book, Beneath the Tamarind Tree, was published in July 2019. It is about the abduction of Chibok girls in 2014.
In June 2019, Sesay was a speaker at the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, Canada. This conference focuses on topics like gender equality and the health of girls.
She also spoke at the 2019 Brilliant minds event in Stockholm, Sweden. This event supports new ideas in music and technology.
In September 2019, Sesay was a guest speaker on the BBC program Africa today. She talked about how women are shown in the media.
Also in September 2019, she co-hosted the Global Citizen Festival. This event combines live music with talks about important global issues.
She was also a speaker at the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) Place for Peace event in September 2019.
Personal Life
Isha Sesay was married to Leif Coorlim, who worked at CNN. They are now divorced. She welcomed her daughter on February 17, 2023.
