Pam Fessler
Pam Fessler is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, where she covers poverty, philanthropy, and voting issues.
In her reporting at NPR, Fessler does stories on homelessness, hunger, affordable housing, and income inequality. She reports on what non-profit groups, the government, and others are doing to reduce poverty and how those efforts are working. Her poverty reporting was recognized with a 2011 First Place National Headliner Award.
Fessler also covers elections and voting, including efforts to make voting more accessible, accurate, and secure. She has done countless stories on everything from the debate over state voter identification laws to Russian hacking attempts and long lines at the polls.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Fessler became NPR's first Homeland Security correspondent. For seven years, she reported on efforts to tighten security at ports, airports, and borders, and the debate over the impact on privacy and civil rights. She also reported on the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, The 9/11 Commission Report, Social Security, and the Census. Fessler was one of NPR's White House reporters during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Before becoming a correspondent, Fessler was the acting senior editor on the Washington Desk and NPR's chief election editor. She coordinated all network coverage of the presidential, congressional, and state elections in 1996 and 1998. In her more than 25 years at NPR, Fessler has also been deputy Washington Desk editor and Midwest National Desk editor.
Earlier in her career, she was a senior writer at Congressional Quarterly magazine. Fessler worked there for 13 years as both a reporter and editor, covering tax, budget, and other news. She also worked as a budget specialist at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and was a reporter at The Record newspaper in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Fessler has a master's of public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree from Douglass College in New Jersey.
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Over 560,000 people lived on the street or in homeless shelters this year — a 2 percent drop, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Still, many say the numbers are unreliable. -
Combating homelessness isn't just about shelter. Lately, some affordable housing projects are getting decidedly upscale — to help residents heal, adjust and build bonds with their new neighbors. -
Some local laws make it illegal to sleep or eat outside. Advocates have fought these laws in court. Now, the federal government is taking a stance, pushing ways to help, not criminalize, the homeless. -
Machines purchased after the 2000 presidential election are nearing the end of their useful lives. It could cost $1 billion to replace them, but Congress has shown no signs of footing the bill. -
Almost every state bought new computerized voting equipment after the disputed 2000 election. But the machines are coming to the end of their useful lives, and there's little momentum to replace them. -
Baltimore clothing shop Flawless Damsels is one of the more than 400 businesses damaged in last spring's riots. The shop recently reopened and was bustling, though that's not the case everywhere. -
The city tore down thousands of public housing units and is replacing them with mixed-income developments. The goal is to deconcentrate poverty. But it has been a hard return home for some residents. -
Signed into law 25 years ago, the Americans With Disabilities Act was supposed to open the doors to employment for many. But only a small percentage of disabled Americans are working today.
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Disabled Americans are twice as likely to be poor as those without disabilities. They continue to face many financial and physical barriers, despite the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. -
The rapid rehousing program provides the homeless with short-term rental assistance. But many recipients ultimately face the same problems as those who stay in shelters, a new government study finds.
