Fred de Sam Lazaro

Fred de Sam Lazaro is executive director of the Under-Told Stories Project and has served as a correspondent for PBS NewsHour since 1985. He also was a regular contributor and substitute anchor for PBS’ Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.

He has also directed films from India and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the acclaimed documentary series Wide Angle. He has reported from 70 countries with a focus on the myriad issues that underlie poverty and human suffering. He founded the Under-Told Stories Project, now located at the University of St. Thomas, which is building a library of social innovation and entrepreneurship reports, designed to use storytelling to enhance students’ understanding of pressing global issues.

He is the recipient of three honorary doctorates, numerous journalism awards and media fellowships from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Michigan’s Knight-Wallace program. He has served on the board of the College of St. Scholastica, in Duluth, Minnesota, his alma mater; Minnpost, an online nonprofit Minnesota news service; the Asian American Journalists Association; and the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota. He was born in Bangalore, India, and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.