Outstanding Leadership in Queens
2015 Honoree of the Queens Federation of Churches

Cheryl Wills

Cheryl Wills is anchor and senior reporter for Time Warner Cable’s Flagship national news network New York One News. For more than two decades, Wills has been a familiar face on television, reporting for affiliates across the country on issues ranging from politics and medicine to fashion and entertainment.

The award-winning journalist is also the author of Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale. The acclaimed biography is about her great-great-great grandfather Sandy Wills’ extraordinary transformation from a Tennessee slave to a courageous Civil War Soldier – who honorably served with the United States Colored Troops from 1863-1865.

As a busy anchor and correspondent, Cheryl Wills has traveled extensively, covering breaking news events. She has reported from The White House and conducted interviews with a wide range of newsmakers. She has been a reliable guide through everything from The Terrorist attacks of September 11th, where she reported from ground zero and she has moderated televised discussions about the historic Presidency of Barack Obama. Along the way, Cheryl has picked up New York Press Club and AP Awards for her reporting.

She has also received The YMCA National Black Achievers in Industry Award, The Carl T. Rowan Leadership in Media Award and, in 2010, McDonald’s honored her as a broadcasting legend and advertised her picture in restaurants around the country. In recognition of her career, she received an Honorary Doctorate from New York College of Health Professions in May of 2005.

Cheryl Wills was invited to speak before the General Assembly of The United Nations in March of 2011 about the impact of slavery on her family during the UN’s International Remembrance of Victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Cheryl also takes great pride in being the Founder and Commander of The New York State Chapter of the Sons & Daughters of the United States Colored Troops, a national organization based in Washington DC. With that platform, she teaches students of all ages about the contributions of the 200,000 black soldiers who fought valiantly during The Civil War.
With more than two decades on the air, Cheryl is often invited to perform cameos in major films and television shows. Her film credits include Spiderman 2, The Brave One with Jodie Foster and Terrance Howard, Freedomland starring Samuel Jackson and many others. Her television credits include The Strain on FX TV, The Preachers of LA on Oxygen, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC and The Golden Boy on CBS.

Cheryl Wills is a graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University where she majored in Broadcast Journalism. She is a member of The New York Association of Black Journalists, The New York Press Club, The Inner Circle of City Hall Journalists, The Screen Actors Guild, The Links and The Women’s Forum