Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins

Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, educator, author, higher education equity consultant and public relations expert with more than two decades of experience. Throughout her career she has worked as a television news anchor, reporter and producer in markets across the country, in addition to producing branded video content and public relations and communication strategies for various companies. 

Currently she is a tenured journalism professor at Santa Monica College and the faculty advisor for The Corsair, SMC’s student-run newspaper. Under her leadership as faculty advisor, The Corsair Newspaper has won numerous national awards, including several Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker awards, known as the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism.

In addition to her work in higher education, Ashanti serves as the Vice President of the national Society of Professional Journalists board of directors and will be installed as the first Black female president of the organization’s board in Fall 2023.