Vancouver, WA - (Oct. 23, 2017) –National Women’s Coalition Against Violence and Exploitation (NWCAVE) has named Rachel Dissell as this year’s honoree for the National Journalism Impact Award. NWCAVE will present the award to Dissell in January 2018 during its Southwest Conference Against Trafficking (SWCAT) in California.

Since 2002, Dissell has worked as an investigative reporter at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, winning numerous awards for her work, including a Media Excellence Award from End Violence Against Women International.

A decade ago, her eight-part series Johanna: Facing Forward, shared the story of a Cleveland teen who was sexually assaulted then shot in the face by an ex-boyfriend, helped lead to a change in two Ohio laws.

Dissell was also one of two Journalists who first uncovered and wrote about neglected rape kits at the Cleveland Police Department in 2010. She has devoted her career to covering violence against women and children involving sexual assault, domestic violence and teen dating violence as well as trauma.

"Instead of looking at only one facet of this work, Rachel has created a reputation for the caring manner in which she engages survivors and the sensitivity with which she covers these issues. As importantly, she uses her position as an investigative reporter to address issues too often swept aside," said Melissa Schwartz, of the Joyful Heart Foundation, in her nomination of Rachel.

In 2010, NWCAVE began honoring journalists with the National Journalism Impact Award. The award recognizes excellence of a journalist who uses the power of media and his/her position to highlight the ongoing violence through coverage of news with local, national and international significance. This includes domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, kidnapping, hate crimes or other crimes and violence. Last Year, John Canzano, of The Oregonian and KGW, won the award for his four-part series on the brutal gang rape of Brenda Tracy.

Rachel will be honored for this year’s award on January 12, 2018 at NWCAVE’s Dinner & Dreams Gala during the Southwest Conference Against Trafficking in Ontario, California.

Read more of Rachel Dissell: http://connect.cleveland.com/staff/rdissell/posts.html