Lisa Ling, Investigative Explorer
The Junior League of Honolulu welcomes Ling as keynote speaker for its annual women’s conference HerStory 2008 Nov. 7. When asking what a “typical day” is like for nationally acclaimed journalist Lisa Ling, the answer is rather atypical. “You know, to be honest with you, there’s no such thing as a typical day for me - nothing about it is typical,” Ling laughs.
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When asking what a “typical day” is like for nationally acclaimed journalist Lisa Ling, the answer is rather atypical.
“You know, to be honest with you, there’s no such thing as a typical day for me - nothing about it is typical,” Ling laughs. “The one thing that is kind of consistent in my life is I try to jog wherever I am, and that kind of allows me to keep sane. But I am always on the road, so there’s nothing that is repetitive about my life, really.”
Ling travels frequently enough to have acquired elite status on three different airlines, serving as a special correspondent for the National Geographic Channel, Nightline, CNN and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She also was the first woman to host National Geographic’s Emmy award-winning flagship series Explorer.
Ling will be in town in the upcoming week as the keynote speaker of HerStory 2008, an annual women’s conference hosted by The Junior League of Honolulu Nov. 7 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel’s Hawaii Ballroom.
“I’m going to be talking about my personal journey and how the world has come to shape the person that I am, and also talk about the importance of having a global perspective,” Ling explains. Dramatic video clips from National Geographic Explorer also will help to tell her story.And although Ling has been just about everywhere, she’s excited to get back to the Islands.
“I love Hawaii and any excuse to get out there is an exciting one for me.”
Upon her arrival Ling will attend a special all-school assembly at La Pietra
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Hawaii School for Girls, title sponsor of the HerStory conference. Mahina Hugo has served as head of school for the past two years, but has been part of the La Pietra ohana for 17 years in the capacity of teacher, admissions associate, middle school dean and assistant head of school.
“At La Pietra, we focus on developing the ‘whole’ person and teaching our girls to think critically and creatively, so we naturally support community efforts like this Junior League of Honolulu outreach event that provide those opportunities for girls and women,” Hugo states.
This year’s conference will run from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and feature dynamic guest speakers such as Ling, Leslie Wilcox, president and CEO of PBS Hawaii, fashion designer Anne Namba, Hugo and others. Attendees also will be able to participate in workshops on career, mentoring, relationships and self-esteem for teens. “Our goal is to offer a multi-generational experience that blends the myriad areas of a woman’s life, where they can recharge, reconnect and get inspired,” says Junior League of Honolulu president Chris Lau.
“We’re all very excited about hearing Lisa Ling speak,” Hugo adds. “She is a tremendous role model. She is a groundbreaking leader in her chosen profession, actively involved with world issues, making a difference by educating and informing people. She is a great example of a confident woman who knows how to think critically and creatively.”
Smart, talented, ambitious and downright fearless, Ling’s one true love is international reporting, wanting to make a worldly difference through her career. Destined to follow through with her journalistic mission, Ling set forth and accepted an offer to host National Geographic Ultimate Explorer, which in 2005 moved to the National Geographic Channel and back to its original name National Geographic Explorer. With her diverse knowledge and skills in investigative reporting, she has claimed the title of “Oprah Show investigative reporter,” featuring a variety of pieces on bride burning in India, the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, child trafficking in Ghana, gang rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the immediate effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
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She also has covered the drug war in Colombia, investigated the infamous MS-13 gang, examined the complex issues surrounding China’s one-child policy, female suicide bombers in Chechnya and Israel’s occupied territories, and has explored the culture of U.S. prisons and conditions at puppy mills, among many other events and epidemics that don’t necessarily make headlines but deserve national and international attention.
“I’ve met so many extraordinary people who have opened their lives to me, and I’ve encountered a lot of tragic things, a lot of exciting things, a lot of really moving things - and for me, if I’m able to experience them, I can’t really sort of turn around and pretend they don’t exist. I’m lucky enough to have this platform and these shows to be able to try to tell these stories.”
Recently, Ling brought to light an issue affecting an entire community that is, as she says, literally being eaten alive by black tar heroin. She spent some time in central Ohio and witnessed firsthand the harsh epidemic.
“It’s one that shocked me, because it’s in our own back yard and I feel it’s really, really important to tell,” says Ling of the story that aired on the Oprah Show and Nightline last month.
Apolice chief in one of the towns Ling visited told her that every single family in the region has been affected by heroin, and Ling says not a single user she met wanted to be addicted to the drug. She says it’s not essentially about getting high - in fact, they hate it - instead it’s the need to feed the physical pain they would otherwise feel.
“We were able to send five people into rehab who wouldn’t have been able to afford it otherwise,” Ling explains.
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