You can catch six-time Emmy Award-winner Monica Morales in her “Monica Makes It Happen” franchise, weeknights at 5:55 p.m. on PIX11 News. She also hosts her new TV show, called the “Monica Makes It Happen Show,” which fights for underserved families across the tri-state area, investigates stories that matter, and helps connect resources to communities in need. Every Thursday night, you can catch Morales live at 6:30 p.m. on PIX11’s Facebook page, discussing hot topics with experts and community champions.
Morales has been awarded a National Emmy for Breaking News, six local Emmys, and an Edward T. Murrow Award for Investigative Series and Reporting. In 2020, Morales won a Continuing Coverage Emmy for her “Monica Makes It Happen” series and in 2022 was nominated for a Community Service Emmy for her daily coverage of New York City’s housing crisis, food insecurity, and health care inequities. Since 2016, Morales has visited over 200 housing developments and has helped fix hundreds of homes and restore the heat and hot water to more than a hundred buildings.
In 2023, Morales received the Zonta Club of New York’s “Distinguished Woman of the Year Award” for advocacy, social justice, and empowering women at their Centennial Celebration, a group active in the United Nations advocating for gender equality and women’s human rights worldwide. In 2022, Morales received the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Freedom for her advocacy in immigrant communities. She was also named one of El Diario Nueva York’s 2022 Latina of Distinction for her work in the Hispanic community. Morales’ advocacy work has received dozens of congressional and city awards over the years. Morales was even invited to the White House in 2018.
Morales was profiled by the Columbia Journalism Review in 2019 for her special brand of advocacy journalism and she is considered one of the only reporters nationally to focus on public housing in the United States. Morales’ Ted Talk on how “Moms Make It Happen” in 2020, focused on the women in communities who are champions of change. In 2021, Morales authored a chapter in the book the Routledge Companion to Media and Poverty, focusing on her daily strategy in helping countless families get social justice and holding city, state, and federal agencies accountable.
Morales has hosted live events including a 2022 lieutenant governor primary debate, a Townhall in Harlem for NYCHA residents, Hispanic parade, and was asked to host a panel for the Harvard Business school on “What are the secrets of successful charter schools?”
Morales has previously worked as an anchor and a reporter at WNBC in New York City, WFXT-FOX25 in Boston, WTVJ-NBC6 in Miami, and WDJT-CBS in Milwaukee.
Morales has her Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Florida’s School of Journalism and Communication. She has her undergraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism and Psychology from the University of Miami. Morales was also an adjunct professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
Morales has received numerous awards from her community. They include the Canon Fredrick Boyd Community Service Award, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, from the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, for her tireless work in fighting for affordable housing for families. Morales also received the Latina Voice of the People Award, from the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, for her focus on helping Hispanic families across the tri-state area. Morales also received the Harlem Honors Award, from Harlem Honors, for her daily work helping low-income communities cut through the red tape of city agencies. The New York Foundation for Senior Citizens gave Morales the Circle of Giving Award for her continuing coverage of issues facing seniors. Morales also received the very prestigious Triscort Award from the Tristate Catholic Committee on Radio & TV for her commitment to excellence in journalism and dedication to her Catholic faith. Morales has also received dozens of special recognitions for her advocacy work on housing issues from tenant leaders and presidents across New York City, including the Douglass Houses on the Upper West Side, the Washington Houses in East Harlem, and the Adams Houses in the Bronx.
Morales is married, a mother of two, and lives in New York City.
You can reach her at monica@pix11.com
