Award-winning television personality and author Cheryl Wills will speak at Solano College on Monday, March 19, 2018.

Wills, the primetime anchor for NY1 Live at Ten and host of public affairs talk show In Focus with Cheryl Wills on Spectrum News NY1 in New York City, is the author of three books about her great-great-great-grandfather Sandy Wills who fought in The Civil War: Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale, an illustrated children’s book, The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills and a young adult book, Emancipated: My Family’s Fight for Freedom.

Wills was the first journalist invited to speak before the General Assembly of The United Nations in March 2011 about the impact of slavery on her family during the UN’s International Remembrance of Victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and is the Founder and Commander of the New York Chapter of the Sons & Daughters of the United States Colored Troops, a national organization based in Washington, D.C.

At Solano, Wills will speak about finding her roots and how knowing where she came from has contributed to her success, lead a discussion on underrepresented populations, discuss the benefits of community colleges and the importance of faculty and staff in a student’s journey to achieving their goals. After her presentation, there will be a question and answer session.

Who: Author and Spectrum News NY1 anchor Cheryl Wills
What: A presentation on finding her roots and how it contributed to her success
When: Monday, March 19, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Where: Solano College Theatre, 4000 Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield, 94534
Tickets: This event is free and open to the public. Nearby parking is available in lots 2, 4 and 6. Parking permits can be purchased for $1 in any lot.

Wills has interviewed some of the most powerful people in the world including The First Woman President of Africa: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Will’s groundbreaking report earned her a prestigious medal from the United Nations Correspondents Association. She also scored an exclusive interview with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Will’s personal favorite was going one-on-one with the late great writer and activist Maya Angelou.

For her work as a journalist, Wills has received awards from The New York Press Club, Newswomen’s Club of NY Front Page Awards and The Associated Press. In 2017, she was awarded The Association of Social Studies Teachers/UFT’s The Rosa Parks Award for Social Justice for “illuminating the struggle for Black equality from The Civil War to present” and the Dr. Martin Luther King Award from three prominent Jewish organizations at The Israeli Consulate for bridging the gap between African Americans and Jews. Additional accolades include: The YMCA National Black Achievers in Industry Award and The Carl T. Rowan Leadership in Media Award. She has twice been honored by McDonald’s, first in 2010 as a broadcasting legend and more recently, in 2015, she received the first ever Harold Dow Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to broadcast media.

In addition to her work in the media, Wills has been featured in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), Law & Order on NBC, Limitless on CBS, The Strain on FX, Freedomland (2006) with Samuel L. Jackson, The Brave One (2007) with Jodie Foster, among other stage and film productions.

About Solano Community College

The College has served the community in Solano County since 1945 when it was founded as Vallejo Junior College. In the early 1970s, the College moved to its present Fairfield site, and is presently serving over 8,000 students throughout the academic year.

In addition to the campus in Fairfield, the College has one Center in Vacaville, and one in Vallejo. To further serve the community, SCC offers courses at Travis Air Force Base, and operates a School of Aeronautics at the Nut Tree Airport.

Currently, Solano Community College offers Associate Degrees and Certificates in various disciplines, to include transfer courses to California State Universities (CSU) and Universities of California (UC), and provides training in several trades. Solano will also begin offering a bachelor’s degree in Biomanufacturing in 2017. For more information, please visit us at www.solano.edu.