Michelle Singletary

Michelle Singletary, a business writer on the staff of The Washington Post, started "The Color of Money" column in March 1997. The response from readers was instantaneous and enormously positive. It became clear that many of these readers previously had found many financial issues too difficult to penetrate. In 2004, she published her first book, "7 Money Mantras For A Richer Life: How To Live Well With The Money You Have" (Random House). Singletary is a personal finance commentator for National Public Radio’s afternoon program "Day To Day." In conjunction with the column, Singletary is also a regular contributor on Howard University's evening news radio program, "Insight," where she discusses personal finance issues. She is frequently asked to appear on local radio and news programs, as well as on a number of network and nationally syndicated programs, including "Nightline," "Oprah" and "The View." In 2000, she was recruited to do regular financial segments for MSNBC. During the 1997-1998 television season, Singletary was a regular correspondent on BET's nationally syndicated financial show, "Real Business." She also has done financial reports for WMMJ-FM in Washington and for public television's "This Week in Business." Readers across the country have discovered Singletary's live chats on the Post's Web site, washingtonpost.com. They ask her views on issues that range from lending your lover money to bankruptcy to the investing habits of Latino and African Americans. In 1999, "The Color of Money" won first place in the major newspaper category of the ICI Education Foundation/American University awards for Excellence in Personal Finance Reporting. A year earlier, the column earned first place for business writing from the National Association of Black Journalists. The column was syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group in the fall of 1999. Prior to becoming a columnist, Singletary covered local and national banking for the Post. She joined the paper in 1992 and was assigned to cover bankruptcy. In 1994, she was awarded a fellowship by NABJ to write about small women- owned businesses in West Africa. While in Africa, she helped cover the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela, and shared the lead story on election day with the Post's foreign correspondent, writing about a Soweto family's day at the polls. Before coming to the Post, Singletary was a business reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun, where she also covered police, religion, politics and zoning. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park, and Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a master's degree in business. Singletary and her husband, Kevin, reside in suburban Washington with their three children.