Suzanne Malveaux is leaving CNN after 20 years

Suzanne Malveaux, who has been a CNN anchor and correspondent for 20 years, is leaving the network.

In a note to employees Friday, she said she made “a heartfelt decision to put myself and my family first and to pursue my long-awaited professional passions: storytelling to advance wellness, resilience and social justice.” to support financially.

Malveaux is the latest veteran to leave the network. Former Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr left last month. Others, including Martin Savidge, were part of the round of layoffs in early December involving hundreds of employees. While Malveaux’s name then circulated as one of the on-air characters who left, a source said her departure had nothing to do with the layoffs.

She wrote in her memo that she reached out to CNN in the fall of 2022 “to focus on my family and possibly pursue new opportunities,” and that the network “has been supportive. I’m thrilled that one of those projects a collaboration with a great-grandson of Nelson Mandela will be about telling stories and bringing communities in conflict willing to find peace.Keep watching.

Malveaux’s partner is White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and they have an 8-year-old daughter. Malveaux served as national correspondent as the network sought to avoid conflicts of interest. The Washington Post first news of their departure.

While at CNN, Malveaux served as a White House correspondent and was an assistant anchor to Wolf Blitzer The storage room, as well as a permanent day anchor. She was previously a correspondent for NBC News.

Malveaux’s full memo is below.

To my colleagues and friends,

Happy New Year!

This new year brings a new beginning for me and my family that I would like to share with you.

As some of you know, I had a second bout of Covid 19 over the holidays. There’s nothing like being quarantined in your basement to help someone gain momentum from thinking to actually discovering what lies ahead. So, after 20 years of delivering groundbreaking storytelling for CNN audiences, I made a heartfelt decision to put myself and my family first and pursue my long-held professional passions: telling stories for wellness, resilience and improve social justice.

I will forever be grateful for the opportunities CNN has given me. Starting with the appointment to run for the White House in 2003 – a 10-year period during which I had the privilege of interviewing five US presidents and the climax of my career covering Barack Obama’s historic campaign. I then promoted myself as one of the first black women to host a weekday CNN show as a solo host – and later co-hosted the show Around the World, before returning to my roots as a storyteller . It has been my privilege to show the stories of human resilience from post-Katrina New Orleans to Cairo, Kabul, Washington and Lviv. I hope my work has helped our audience to better understand the world that has changed around us.

It was a great trip!

CNN’s platform has allowed me to create global awareness of these brave people fighting ALS, including my mother, Myrna Malveaux, who fought through her illness to keep us together as a family. As I reaped the energy of covering breaking news and politics, the rhythm of my life shifted to become more personal. I love being a mother and the time I spend with my eight-year-old daughter is priceless. I am so thankful that my mother and daughter had the chance to have a wonderful relationship before she passed away.

I am grateful that they supported me as I turned to CNN in the fall of 2022 to focus on my family and potentially pursue new opportunities. I am delighted that one of those projects will be with a great-grandson of Nelson Mandela to tell stories and bring communities of conflict ready to find peace. Stay tuned.

I will forever honor the talented, dedicated professionals at CNN who I grew up with, mentored, and many became close friends over the past two decades. Especially my show team family in Atlanta!

With love and gratitude I wish you all the best.

I will see you soon!

Suzanne