Abi Wright joined the school’s prizes and programs department in July 2008 as the director of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards and the John Chancellor Award. Wright spent seven years working at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), where she worked most recently as communications director. She was responsible for CPJ’s overall communications strategy, publicizing issues, handling breaking news and producing the annual benefit dinner. Wright spent July 2003 through July 2005 reporting on press abuses throughout Asia as CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. That job involved tracking and documenting regional trends, including the jailing of journalists in China and criminal defamation charges against journalists in Indonesia. She is a 1989 graduate of Barnard College, and an experienced television producer. Wright has worked for NBC News, ABC News and Fox News.