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DEBORAH ROBERTS
ABC News correspondent, "20/20"
Deborah Roberts joined the ABC newsmagazine "20/20" in June 1995. Since then she has served as a substitute anchor on "World News Weekend" and "Good Morning America." Prior to joining ABC News, Ms. Roberts was a correspondent for NBC News' "Dateline NBC" from the program's inception, and also served as a substitute anchor on the network news.
Recently Ms. Roberts won an Emmy Award for her report chronicling one woman's journey to Ethiopia to find her mother. She also reported from Africa on the emotional plight of African-Americans who journey to sites where their ancestors were held captive as slaves.
Ms. Roberts has explored such emotional journeys as a family's heartbreaking struggle to save their child from a life threatening disease, the legal fight waged by a high ranking military official who underwent sex change surgery, and an in-depth look at the manic depression in young children. In the 1998-99 Season, she reported from Africa on the plight of refugees in Rwanda, including children who were orphaned after the war. She has also reported on a number of medical issues, including efforts to perfect gender selection.
During her first season with "20/20," Ms. Roberts covered a wide variety of stories, including a profile of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks and an award-winning investigation into abuse within the Amish community.
She began her network career with NBC News in 1990 as a general assignment reporter. Before working at "Dateline NBC," she covered stories in the Atlanta and Miami bureaus of NBC News. She also reported from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, and from the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Previously Ms. Roberts was the bureau chief of WFTV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Orlando, Florida, from February 1987 to May 1990. She also served as the station's field anchor for NASA and as a co-anchor of the weekend news. She began her career in 1982 at WTVM-TV in Columbus, Georgia, and subsequently worked at WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she was highly regarded for her coverage of the state legislature.
A 1982 graduate of the University of Georgia, Ms. Roberts was awarded the 1992 University of Georgia Distinguished Alumnus Award, presented annually to recent graduates who have excelled rapidly in their professions. She also earned a Sports Emmy nomination for her coverage of the 1992 Olympics, was cited as top local female anchor by the Orlando Sentinel, and was recently awarded the Clarion Award for her investigative story on the Amish.
Ms. Roberts resides in Manhattan with her husband, NBC weatherman Al Roker, their daughter, Leila, and son, Nicholas.