Connie Schultz

Connie Schultz won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2005 as a columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. Pulitzer judges praised her for writing "pungent columns that provided a voice for the underdog and underprivileged." It is a common theme in her work, which is fueled by her working-class roots. In 2003, she was a Pulitzer finalist and won the Robert F. Kennedy Award for social justice reporting for her series, "The Burden of Innocence," which chronicled the ordeal of Michael Green, who served 13 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. After her series ran, the real rapist turned himself in.

Schultz is currently on leave from The Plain Dealer to help her husband, Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown, in his race for the U.S. Senate. She has two children and two stepdaughters. Her first book, Life Happens, was published by Random House in April. Her second book, about the Senate race, will be published by Random House in spring 2007. She can be reached at schultz.connie@gmail.com.