Betsy Fischer Martin

Betsy Fischer Martin is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. She is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive and the longtime Executive Producer for Meet the Press with Tim Russert. She also founded her own consulting business, Fischer Martin Media, where she specializes in providing media training to corporate executives.

Fischer Martin has been honored with several awards for her work at NBC, including three News and Documentary Emmys, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, and a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television. She has been featured in several publications including profiles in Television Week, The New Orleans Times-Picayune, Marie Claire Magazine and the Washington Business Journal. She was also included in Washingtonian’s 50 Best & Most Influential Journalists, Washington Life’s Power 100, and GQ’s Powerful People in Washington. She has provided on-air analysis to several television networks including CBS News, MSNBC, CNN, and the BBC.

She serves on the Board of Directors of Washington’s International Women’s Forum and the National Press Club’s Journalism Institute. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an alum of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a cum laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.

Sub-specialities:
Women in Politics: Women voters, women running for office, women's political engagement
Media: the news business, public affairs programming, bias in the media, news coverage of politics