Suzette Hackney became a national columnist for USA TODAY and joined the Editorial Board in 2020. Previously, she was a columnist and the director of Opinion & Community Engagement for The Indianapolis Star. She's also been a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press, and an editorial writer and columnist for the Toledo Blade. She has been recognized for her work with a National Headliner, a national Edward R. Murrow, numerous National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence awards and the Association for Women in Communications' Clarion. She was also a finalist for the Scripps Howard Walker Stone Award. Her work has also appeared online in The Washington Post and Politico. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University, a Master of Fine Arts degree in nonfiction writing from Butler University and was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan.