Award-Winning Correspondent & Investigative Journalist
Mariana van Zeller: Biography at a Glance
- Mariana van Zeller is an award-winning correspondent and investigative journalist known for hosting and executive producing National Geographic’s original documentary series Trafficked.
- Mariana explores the complex and often dangerous inner workings of the global underworld, smuggling networks, and black and informal markets.
- Mariana has earned some of the most prestigious awards in journalism and storytelling including a DuPont Award, Livingston Award, Peabody Award, Television Academy Honor, and several Emmy nominations.
- Her prominent work includes investigations into the pharmaceutical and clandestine sources of Fentanyl, prescription drug abuse, pill trafficking, immigration, and human trafficking.
Biography
Mariana van Zeller is an award-winning correspondent and investigative journalist. She is the host and executive producer of National Geographic’s original documentary series Trafficked, which explores the complex and often dangerous inner workings of the global underworld, smuggling networks, and black and informal markets. The series builds on Mariana’s work for National Geographic’s Explorer series and her two decades of reporting on shadow economies around the world.
For her work, Mariana has earned some of the most prestigious awards in journalism and storytelling. Her investigation “Death by Fentanyl,” which tracked the pharmaceutical and clandestine sources of the deadly opioid was honored with a DuPont Award. For her report “Rape on the Reservation,” which examined the increased incidence of rape and sexual violence on American Indian reservations, she received the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. And her documentary on prescription drug abuse and pill trafficking, “The OxyContin Express,” received a Peabody Award, a Television Academy Honor, and several Emmy nominations.
Mariana began her journalism career in her native Portugal and moved to the US to attend Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she met her husband and producing partner Darren Foster. They live in Los Angeles with their son Vasco. Mariana is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian and French.
Topics
The Economics of Black Markets
Almost half of the world's economy is dominated by black and gray markets. And yet we know very little about them. Investigative reporter Mariana Van Zeller has reported on it all - drugs, guns, scams, organ trafficking, human smuggling, and more. Having spent the last 20 years gaining unprecedented access into these often secretive worlds, Mariana shares with audiences why they exist, how they operate, and what she has learned from them.
Approaching the World's Biggest Problems with Humanity
In telling stories about some of the world's most prolific scammers, Mariana Van Zeller has to ignore stereotypes and stigmas in order to find the humanity in each of her subjects. She has traveled the globe to shed light on the issues impacting our world today.
In this conversation, Mariana shares the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone and working to build bridges with people from all walks of life to solve the world's biggest problems.
Gender Bias in the Workplace
As a woman working in the male-dominated world of criminals, outlaws, and traffickers, Mariana Van Zeller shares her insights on how to use gender bias as an advantage in any hostile environment.
