Cheryl W. Thompson is an investigative correspondent and senior editor for member station investigations for NPR, teaches investigative reporting at George Washington University and is the author of the upcoming book “Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen.”

Before coming to NPR in January 2019, she spent 22 years with The Washington Post, examining criminal justice, political corruption, guns and the White House. Thompson was part of teams that won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the other in 2016 for fatal police shootings. She also served as the reporting coach for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winning NPR podcast No Compromise.

In 2018, Thompson was elected the first Black president of Investigative Reporters and Editors, a 6,000-member organization dedicated to improving investigative journalism. She served an unprecedented three terms before being named board chairman in 2021. In 2022, she was selected as a Pulitzer Prize juror for the investigative journalism category and chaired the jury in 2023.

Thompson is the recipient of more than 40 journalism awards, including an Emmy, five National Headliners and three from IRE. In December 2024, she received the Legacy Award from the Washington Association of Black Journalists for her career achievements, mentorship and commitment to the Black community.

A two-time graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, she is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is also a founding and current board member of the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism and an advisory board member for the Fund for Investigative Journalism.