Deborah Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter and editor, directs the Merrill College’s Carnegie Seminar. She joined the faculty in 2006, after five years as Washington investigative editor for The Los Angeles Times. She also reported for The Washington Post, The Seattle Times, The Chicago Sun-Times and two small Illinois dailies. Over 30 years, she produced more than two dozen investigative series on a wide range of topics--medical research, federal land and housing programs, criminal justice issues, pollution and politics. She is president of the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, on the board of the Fund for Investigative Journalism, and past president of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). Her first book, The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth about War Crimes, (Basic Books 2008) is scheduled for release in the fall. (Photo by John Consoli)