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Michelle Smawley is an award-winning non-fiction and news television producer, director, writer, educator and media consultant whose work over the last 20 years has been featured on all three major television networks, PBS, cable and independent.
Most recently Michelle worked at ABC News producing for the newsmagazines, 20/20, and Primetime. Her stories have included a profile of a gay Prince in India whose decision to come out of the closet turned Indian society upside down and a profile of the Indian guru, AMMA known as the hugging saint, she has blessed and consoled more than 26 million people from around the world. Michelle provided coverage for breaking news events like the death of Michael Jackson, the disappearance of Natalee Holloway and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Michelle was a lead producer on many of the network special series; among them, Six Degrees of Martina McBride and I-Caught. She also produced and directed many segments for the popular ABC News reality series; “What Would You Do?, including the Emmy award nominated segment, “Shopping While Black”, about the reality of racial profiling of black shoppers
Michelle was selected by ABC News for nomination for the prestigious Peabody, RFK, Polk and Emmy awards for the hour, “Albinism: Caught Between Dark and Light”, an ABC News special about albinism, a medical condition where the body produces little or no pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. She embedded herself in the lives a diverse group of people with the condition including African-American twin boys born 25 minutes apart but separated by an eternity because one has albinism and the other does not. The story ultimately led her to Tanzania where she interviewed the survivors of a campaign of terror, more than 54 people have been killed for their body parts because of a widespread belief that their limbs bring good luck and good fortune
In 2005 Michelle was a producer and crafted key content, subjects and storylines for the Emmy Award winning series Carrier, a 10-hour PBS/NatGeo International television series and companion feature documentary Another Day in Paradise. Set aboard the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Nimitz during a full deployment to the Persian Gulf in 2005 - Michelle lived and produced on the ship for a full 6 months with unprecedented access to subjects and military maneuvers - following Top Gun to Top Brass and the enlisted sailors that form the core of the Navy.
In 2004 Michelle was a producer on the team that created the critically acclaimed, Peabody Award winning ABC series, Hopkins 24/7, a verite documentary special event series about life behind the scenes at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The project was granted unique access to doctors, patients and the inner workings of one of the country's top hospitals.
Michelle has produced, directed and developed stories for NOW on PBS, 20/20, Primetime Live, 60 Minutes and Biography on A&E, to name a few. The subject matter has been as diverse as; an examination of the controversy surrounding doctor participation in lethal injection, an exploration of the lives of foreign guest workers, an investigative profile of international shoplifting rings, and an award wining special on teenage sexuality.
Michelle has also worked as a general assignment television reporter in Missouri and as a radio features reporter for an NPR affiliate in the Midwest. Michelle has also served as a media consultant for non-profits over the course of her career.
Michelle is currently on the faculty of the Graduate Program in Social Documentary at the School of Visual Arts.
Michelle earned a Master of Arts Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri as a Gus Ridgel Fellow, a fellowship for exceptional students of color.
She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from New York University.