Tracie Potts

Tracie Potts is the executive director of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, which she joined in October 2021 following three decades as an award-winning broadcast journalist, most recently as senior Washington Correspondent for NBC News Channel, the affiliate service of NBC News. Based on Capitol Hill, she covered four Presidential administrations, Congress and the federal government for 200+ local morning news programs, MSNBC, CNBC and foreign news organizations. She reported from abroad from the 2012 Olympics, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate, the selection of Pope Benedict and the death of Nelson Mandela. Before working in Washington, she was based in the network’s Los Angeles bureau and served as an anchor and reporter at local stations. As a 2017 Center for Health Journalism National Fellow, she reported “Forgotten Voices,” a project about the Affordable Care Act, which was honored with a Dateline Award from the DC chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She has also received fellowships from the Loyola Marymount Journalist Law School, Mayo Clinic, National Press Foundation, Poynter Institute, the Journalism Center on Children and Families and the Radio Television News Directors Foundation. She was an instructor for NBC University and the News Literacy Project. Her lesson on NLP’s “Checkology” digital learning platform has been used by more than 100,000 students and educators worldwide. She also taught journalism at Knoxville College and Biola University. She was appointed to the National PTA Board of Directors, and served as a family engagement trainer and facilitator on its governance team. She also served as an adviser to the federally funded Statewide Family Engagement Center serving Maryland and Pennsylvania. She is currently an advisory board member for Urban Rural Action, advisory board chair for Learning Heroes and a board member of ASTRO America. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Articles

Yvette Johnson and her family outside of her home during a heatwave in July 2022 in Houston, Texas. "It’s too much heat inside m

Summer heat is now an annual health crisis for millions of exposed Americans

Is air conditioning is a necessity or a luxury? Rising temps may decide the question for us.

A student carries home bagged meals given out as part of a grab-and-go meal program run by public schools in Stamford, Connectic

The pandemic showed us how many American families are left hungry. Now’s the time to change that.

COVID taught us a lot about feeding people, especially children. Here's how we can make the lessons stick.

Food and Nutrition

In the next phase of the pandemic, facts will become our new vaccine

Learning how to live with COVID is a huge challenge. But there’s more to consider in weighing our comfort levels than just the virus.

(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Reporters share their own stories from America’s silent epidemic of grief

There’s a silent epidemic of grief sweeping across America, and journalists who report on coronavirus feel it just like everyone else.

Health Care on the Line: When will Washington listen to health care's forgotten voices?

Years of attacks on the ACA leave families in constant fear of losing coverage. The pandemic raises the stakes for millions of people.

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

Journalists of color are part of the story of racism in America. That raises tough questions on the job

A reporter reflects on the deeper issues behind a split-second decision she faced on air when asked for her reaction to George Floyd's death.

Race and Equity

Community Safety

Tracie Potts interviews potential sources for a broadcast series on health reform.

How to find the ‘forgotten voices’ that will give your health stories power

"Data is the backbone of good reporting, but people make the audience care," writes broadcast reporter Tracie Potts. Here's how she finds the people that make the story.

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

View of the United States Capitol Building

Reporting in the midst of uncertainty: Chronicling health reform across the country

2017 National Fellow Tracie Potts gives a behind-the-scenes look at the ever-changing nature of her Fellowship project chronicling health reform across the country.

Race and Equity

Poverty and Class

Environmental Health

Immigrant and Migrant Health

Health Insurance and Costs

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

Mental Health

Chronic Disease

Outside the Beltway, a reporter listens to forgotten voices amid the debate over ACA

A tour of four communities across America revealed a common theme when it comes to the health reform: "Over and over we heard the same thing: people feel forgotten. They feel Washington is not listening."

Environmental Health

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

As Congress scrambles to pass budget, funding for community health clinics hang in the balance

In her final L.A. County-based story, Potts visited a Eisner Health community clinic in Los Angeles County to talk to patients, physicians and administrators about what would happen to patient care if Congress failed to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Tracie Potts

Articles

Summer heat is now an annual health crisis for millions of exposed Americans

The pandemic showed us how many American families are left hungry. Now’s the time to change that.

In the next phase of the pandemic, facts will become our new vaccine

Reporters share their own stories from America’s silent epidemic of grief

Health Care on the Line: When will Washington listen to health care's forgotten voices?

Journalists of color are part of the story of racism in America. That raises tough questions on the job

How to find the ‘forgotten voices’ that will give your health stories power

Reporting in the midst of uncertainty: Chronicling health reform across the country

Outside the Beltway, a reporter listens to forgotten voices amid the debate over ACA

As Congress scrambles to pass budget, funding for community health clinics hang in the balance