Mary Emily O’Hara
NBC News writer Mary Emily O’Hara has been reporting since she was a teenager. “I decided to pursue journalism after years of self-publishing zines and writing for small indie publications,” she says. “As soon as I began writing, I knew it was what I was meant to do with my life.” O’Hara has had her work featured in the Daily Dot, VICE, Rolling Stone and The New York Times, to name a few, and is often covering topics that affect marginalized communities (LGBT and otherwise). “I always feel most proud of my work when I see it contributing to some form of social or policy change,” she says. In 2017, O’Hara broke the story of the movement to gain legal recognition for non-binary, agender and intersex people. “It’s truly incredible to see two U.S. states now preparing to offer a third gender marker on ID cards and driver licenses, and although that’s the result of many efforts from many people, I do feel like my reporting has contributed to growing awareness of the need for such a move,” she says. “It’s like watching history being made while you’re still writing it down. An incomparable feeling!” —TB
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