Mara Liasson is the senior national political correspondent for NPR. Her reports can be heard regularly on NPR's award-winning newsmagazine programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Liasson provides extensive coverage of politics and policy from Washington, DC — focusing on the White House and Congress — and also reports on political trends beyond the Beltway.

Each election year, Liasson provides key coverage of the candidates and issues in both presidential and congressional races. During her tenure she has covered nine presidential elections. Prior to her current assignment, Liasson was NPR's White House correspondent for all eight years of the Clinton administration. She has won the White House Correspondents' Association's Merriman Smith Award for daily news coverage in 1994, 1995, and 1997.

Liasson joined NPR in 1985 as a general assignment reporter and newscaster. From September 1988 to June 1989 she took a leave of absence from NPR to attend Columbia University as a recipient of a Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism.

At Words to the Wise, Mara will be honored as SVUDL's Speaker of the Year, for her prolific work in journalism and for advocating for a free press and increased civic engagmement. She will also engage in a fireside chat and share her insights about the upcoming elections and more.

Topping off the event will be a Fund-A-Need, giving guests the opportunity to “raise their paddle” to help us reach our fundraising goal of $460,000 to help close the opportunity gap for under-resourced high school students in Silicon Valley.