Denisse Oller Biography

Denisse Oller (born September 30, ?? in Puerto Rico) is a chef, broadcaster, journalist, newspaper columnist, and a former Emmy award winning and acclaimed national news anchor for Univision Network and Telemundo Network.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico and New York, Oller graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and a minor in French before attending Hunter College where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies and a minor in Interpersonal Communications.

Oller joined Univision in 1986, serving as a national reporter based in Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, before becoming the main anchor of the network's nationally broadcast weekend edition. She won an Emmy award in 1992 for her coverage of the Gulf War's heroes arriving home.

In addition to her experience as a news anchor, Oller has interviewed many world leaders including former US Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias Sanchez. She has also interviewed prominent artists and writers such as Isabel Allende and Mario Vargas Llosa. Her interview with Zoilamérica Narváez, the stepdaughter of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega was highly covered by the Latin American press after she disclosed details of alleged sexual abuse by Ortega. Her familiar and reassuring voice has broadcast stories across the United States and Latin America, covering major news events such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, presidential elections and the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba, where she interviewed both dissidents and government officials.

She has been honored with five Emmy's, two Gracies from the American Women in Radio and Television association , and the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for journalism for her coverage of the exit of the United States Navy from the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico after 60 years of military occupation.

On November 2, 2007, Oller officially ended her 20-year career in news to pursue independent ventures and to establish Newsworks Productions, a multi-platform entity specializing in contemporary lifestyle topics, including healthy eating and living, and current events. Newsworks develops content for use in print, on-line, text, and multimedia messaging. The company offers communications consulting and marketing strategies to reach the USA Latino market.

She currently pursues one of her other passions: cooking. A trained chef, Oller serves as one of the prominent Food and Nutrition Experts for AARP's on-line Spanish language food channel at "Aarp's cocina y nutricion", Oller hosts a monthly web-based cooking program and has been a featured writer for AARP/VIVA, the premier bilingual magazine for Hispanics 50+ and their families. Her work with AARP enables Oller to reinvent Latino cuisine, bringing healthy eating choices to thousands of families. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education with a specialty in Latin American, Mediterranean cuisine, and healthy cooking, Oller conducts regular and very popular recreational cooking classes at the Institute.

Oller has guest-appeared as a judge on "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" for The Food Network. In addition, she has made appearances on The Today Show, CNN en Espanol, and on Martha Stewart's radio show. She was a guest chef for the 2009 Summit Wine and Food Festival and is one of the spokespeople for the Latino Initiatives program of the American Diabetes Association.

Outside of the kitchen, Oller is the Executive Director for The Joseph A. Unanue Institute for Latin Studies at Seton Hall University. The goal of the institute is to inspire, educate and empower Seton Hall students to become the next generation of Latino leaders. Through Oller's leadership, the Institute has become one of the most prominent on-campus Latino centers for study and research in the tri-state area, award scholarships and mentoring some of the most gifted and talented Latino students.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans