Ashleigh Banfield has been a bright spot for HLN in 2018, and the American Red Cross in Greater New York seems to have taken notice because the organization announced today that it’s adding the award-winning TV newser to its Board of Directors.
“We are so honored to have Ashleigh join our board and become a trained volunteer,” Josh Lockwood, CEO, American Red Cross Greater New York Region said in a statement. “The same tenacity and intellect that she brings to her job as a journalist will be an asset to the Red Cross as we continue to modernize and transform to meet the ever-changing needs of those in need down the street, across the country, and around the world.”
“Giving back to the community is important to me,” Banfield added. “I have seen the important work of the Red Cross in the field as I reported on stories from 9/11 to the Boston Marathon Bombing. The compassion and spirit of the Red Cross workforce is infectious and I look forward working alongside them to help deliver the lifesaving mission of this American icon.”
Prior to hosting Crime & Justice on HLN–which airs Mondays-Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. ET–Banfield anchored Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield on CNN. She joined CNN in 2011 as co-anchor of Early Start, and previously reported for NBC News, garnering critical acclaim for her reporting from Ground Zero on Sept. 11. She spent much of the 2000s at MSNBC, reporting and anchoring from remote corners of the world, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza and the West Bank.
Banfield has also reported from the scene of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, from the scene of the shooting at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Ct., and reported live from the trial of this century, Casey Anthony.
You might also remember an episode from earlier this year when Banfield argued this article published on Babe.net, damaged the true mission of the #metoo movement.
A 23-year-old woman, who remained anonymous, came forward with sexual misconduct accusation against actor Aziz Ansari. The woman, called “Grace” in the story, told her story to writer Katie Way. “Grace” said her date with Ansari “was by far the worst experience with a man I’ve ever had.”
Ansari responded by saying that whatever happened on their date was “completely consensual.”
Banfield went on the air calling out the accuser.
.@TVAshleigh blasts @MasterofNone star @azizansari‘s anonymous sexual assault accuser in an open letter: “You have chiseled away at a movement” pic.twitter.com/dbSdy2L1kh
— HLN (@HLNTV) January 16, 2018