Cheryl Wills is a nationally recognized award-winning anchor and reporter for Time Warner Cable’s flagship national news network, New York 1 News, based in New York City which is aired on select cable systems throughout the United States and Japan’s MXTV.
Born and raised in New York City, Cheryl is the daughter of Firefighter Clarence Wills, who worked for Engine 1, Ladder 24 in Manhattan, New York. The eldest of five children, Cheryl is a mentor to her brother, Clarence Wills Jr., who was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, and she is guiding his career as a cartoonist.
As a television journalist, Cheryl Wills has been a reliable guide through everything from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to moderating televised discussions about the presidency of Barack Obama.
On March 25, 2011, Cheryl Wills made history as the first journalist invited to speak at the United Nations General Assembly Hall for The International Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade where she read passages from her book, “Die Free” which was broadcast live around the world on UNTV. Watch the video here.
On April 6, 2011 Ancestry.com and The National Archives invited Cheryl Wills and award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns to make presentations about their family connections to the Civil War Veterans at the National Archives Headquarters in Washington DC. Cheryl and Ken’s presentations made national headlines with coverage by major national media including The CBS Evening News, The Washington Post and The Associated Press. Watch the video here.
Cheryl Wills has received numerous awards for her work including New York Press Club and AP Awards, the YMCA National Black Achievers in Industry Award, and the Carl T. Rowan Leadership in Media Award as part of the 25th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Awards. In 2010, McDonald’s honored Wills as a broadcasting legend during a regional ad campaign. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from New York College of Health Professions in May of 2005. Cheryl is most proud to be the newly designated Commander and Lifetime Descendant Member of the New York Chapter of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Colored Troops — a national organization of Civil War descendants who raise awareness about black soldiers who served during the The Civil War. Her book tour has taken her all over the world, including Senegal, West Africa — where she presented her story at the 2011 World Summit of Mayors before an audience of international politicians, dignitaries and journalists.
Cheryl in an exclusive interview with
Dr. Maya Angelou at her Harlem home
Her acting work has included playing herself in television shows like NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit and she has appeared in major motion pictures such as Freedomland, starring Samuel Jackson, and The Brave One, with Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard. Wills is a graduate of the famed S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University, and the current Vice President of The New York Chapter of The National Association of Black Journalists, and an active member of The Women’s Forum of New York, The Links, Inc., The Inner Circle of City Hall Journalists, The New York Press Club, and The Screen Actors Guild. For more information about Cheryl Wills go to www.cherylwills.tv