Alexandra Zavis is a foreign affairs writer and editor based in Los Angeles. She spent more than a decade with the Associated Press, reporting from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other war-torn places. Since joining The Times in 2006, she has served as Baghdad correspondent and as a California reporter covering poverty and veterans issues.

Robert Hunter, head of the Media Committee:

“In an age of conflict in places so long “off the beaten path,” someone of adventure and courage is needed to discover facts and make sense of them for us all. Alexandra Zavis does this superbly, devoting skills of reporting, informing, interpreting to places of great challenge and suffering. For the Associated Press, her “beat” included Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For the Los Angeles Times, she was correspondent in Baghdad at its “worst of times.” She continues writing and tweeting on wars from Syria to Gaza and to the Ebola tragedy. None of her assignments abroad has been easy, few have been explored by others, in all she illuminates what is most important. Especially important now and for the years ahead is Alexandra Zavis’ unsurpassed understanding of the length and breadth of Africa. She sets a high standard—for journalism and for compassion.”