Ellen Goodman

Ellen Goodman has spent her career as a leading voice in journalism, chronicling social change and its impact on American life. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, she was one of the first women to open up the op-ed pages to women's voices and has become widely recognized for her insightful commentary. Goodman continues to contribute as a writer, speaker, and commentator, focusing on issues from gender dynamics to aging.

Goodman's journalism journey began as a researcher for Newsweek magazine, progressing to a reporter role at the Detroit Free Press in 1965 and later at The Boston Globe in 1967, where she began her acclaimed column in 1974. Her work has been syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group since 1976 and has appeared in over 400 newspapers nationwide.

A cum laude graduate of Radcliffe College in 1963, Goodman furthered her education as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 1973-74, studying social change dynamics. She continued her association with Harvard as a Shorenstein Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government in 2007, focusing on gender and media. She also served as the Lorry I. Lokey Visiting Professor in Professional Journalism at Stanford in 1996.

Goodman is the author of several books including "Turning Points" (Doubleday, 1979) which discusses the changing roles of women in the family, and "I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives" (Simon & Schuster, 2000), co-authored with Patricia O'Brien, which became a New York Times bestseller. Her other significant works include collections of her columns such as "Close to Home" (Simon & Schuster, 1979) and "Paper Trail: Common Sense in Uncommon Times" (Simon & Schuster, 2004).

Goodman has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary in 1980, the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award, the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award, and the Ernie Pyle Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008. Moreover, Goodman co-founded The Conversation Project in 2010, which works on transforming the way people talk about and prepare for end-of-life care. She also serves on the board of Encore.org, advocating for the engagement of elders in community contributions.

Ellen Goodman's dedication to exploring and elucidating pressing social issues makes her speeches not only informative but also deeply impactful, resonating widely across different audiences in various keynote speeches around the country.