Fessler briefed journalists in February 2022: Does Poverty Affect Human Epigenetics? and in July 2024: What Journalists Should Know About Election Officials. 

Pam Fessler was an editor and correspondent at NPR News for more than 28 years. As a correspondent on the National Desk, she covered voting issues, poverty, and philanthropy. She retired in 2021 and has worked since as an advisor with the nonpartisan Elections Group, helping election officials improve their communications with the public.

For much of her time at NPR, Fessler reported on elections and voting, including efforts to make voting more accessible and secure. She did countless stories on everything from the debate over changes in state voter laws to Russian interference and the spread of misinformation.

Fessler also covered homelessness, hunger, affordable housing, and income inequality. Her poverty reporting was recognized with a 2011 First Place National Headliner Award.

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. She also reported on the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, the 9/11 Commission, 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 elections editor. She coordinated all network coverage of the presidential, congressional, and state elections in 1996 and 1998. Fessler also spent time as deputy Washington Desk editor and Midwest National Desk editor.

Earlier in her career, Fessler was a senior writer at Congressional Quarterly magazine. She worked there for 13 years as both a reporter and editor, covering tax, budget, and other news. She spent one year 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 of Public Administration degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from Douglass College at Rutgers University.

Her first book, “Carville’s Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice,” was published in 2020. It was selected as a book of the year by the American Library Association.