Maria Ressa

Member of the Advisory Board

Maria Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist, author, and press freedom advocate who co-founded Rappler, the Philippines' leading digital news outlet known for its investigative reporting and critical coverage of government abuses.Born in Manila in 1963, she moved to the U.S. at age 10 and later graduated from Princeton University. Ressa spent nearly two decades at CNN, serving as bureau chief in Manila and Jakarta, and became one of Southeast Asia’s foremost investigative reporters on terrorism. In 2012, she launched Rappler, which quickly gained prominence for exposing disinformation networks and documenting the violent anti-drug campaign under President Rodrigo Duterte. Her fearless journalism led to multiple arrests and legal battles, including a 2020 cyberlibel conviction widely condemned as politically motivated.

Despite these challenges, she continued her advocacy for press freedom, culminating in her being awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize alongside Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. She has authored several books, including How to Stand Up to a Dictator (2022), and currently serves as a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, focusing on the intersection of technology and democracy. Her unwavering commitment to truth and accountability has made her a global symbol of resistance against authoritarianism and the erosion of democratic values.