Nicquel Terry Ellis

I cover national breaking and enterprise stories.

As the lead writer and reporter for CNN's Race & Equality team-- first formed in 2020-- I covered a wide range of issues that intersect with race including politics, education, health equity and the advancement of women of color. I led coverage of the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022 and its impact on Black and brown women and I reported on missing people of color and the fight to get more attention on their cases. In 2022, I produced an interactive project on the maternal health crisis facing Black women. As the nation slowly reopened following the Covid-19 pandemic, I covered the disparities in healthcare access that were laid bare. In addition to writing for CNN Digital, I made appearances on various shows including CNN New Day, CNN This Morning, CNN Newsroom and Early Start. I also hosted podcast episodes for the CNN Political Briefing and Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction.

Based in Atlanta, I reported for USA TODAY's nation team covering race, inequality and activism. I led much of the coverage of the controversial deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks and the protests that erupted across America. I regularly pitched and wrote enterprise stories about racial inequality and the activists fighting for change. I also wrote about reproductive rights, voting rights and the national debate over Confederate monuments. I was featured as a guest on networks such as NPR, Cheddar and the Black News Channel.

I covered Detroit City Hall and Wayne County government. I also contributed to The News' politics strike team where the focus was the 2018 gubernatorial election. I won a national award for a story I wrote in 2018 about one of Detroit's most dangerous zip codes.

-Reported breaking, enterprise and watchdog stories with a focus on the oceanfront city of Asbury Park. Wrote an award-winning series on failure in the Asbury Park School District that highlighted a 49 percent graduation rate, high costs and a dysfunctional school board. -Anchored daily news breaks via a partnership with Me-TV. I appeared on WJLP in the New Jersey/New York region and KJWP in the Delaware/Philadelphia region.