Zulekha Nathoo (zoo-LAKE-ah NUH-thoo) is an award-winning video, digital and social media journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s an empathetic and active listener, meme-loving coworker and stealth leader. Zulekha is a producer and reporter at USA TODAY, focusing on human interest stories, investigations, pop culture and representation. She also hosts the Humankind Connection on the USA TODAY channel, which features uplifting content. Before joining the team, she contributed to multiple publications including BBC.com, writing long-form, evidence-based articles about inclusion, equality and workplace culture. She is also a doctoral candidate in organizational change, but does not circle back, close the loop, connect the dots, offline it, synergize or put a pin in anything.
Zulekha previously worked in Los Angeles as a TV, radio and online correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Her ability to jump between entertainment and breaking news meant covering stories ranging from the Oscars and Grammy Awards to the pandemic, racial inequality and the #MeToo movement. She was part of CBC’s special coverage team for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the death of Kobe Bryant and the Harvey Weinstein verdict in New York.
Her work has garnered numerous awards across all media platforms, including a New York Press Club Award for a heartwarming video about a restaurant where grandmothers are the chefs. Zulekha also won a U.S. National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for a TV story about accessibility and gaming. She earned a Southern California Journalism Award in radio/podcast feature reporting for a story about body image in the music industry. A long-form podcast episode she wrote and produced about COVID and grief won both a Golden Crane Podcasting Award and an Atlanta Press Club Award. She took home another Atlanta Press Club Award for a BBC feature about misidentifying people of color, which is now included in the curriculum at Carleton University’s Journalism and Belonging course. Zulekha received an honorable mention at the 2024 Gracie Awards for her work with the USA TODAY investigative series, States of America. That same year, Hillary Clinton also received an honorable mention at the awards for her podcast and Michelle Obama was among the winners. So in other words, a totally lowkey, low-competition season.
In addition to working across the U.S. and Canada, Zulekha accepted a fellowship in 2013 with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations which took her to the Middle East and North Africa. She also worked in Nairobi, Kenya as a media fellow with the Aga Khan Foundation. Her Swahili and Arabic are (slow) works in progress.
Originally from Canada, Zulekha worked on-air in Toronto before moving to the U.S. She also worked as a multimedia journalist in Calgary (her hometown) and Montreal, doing her own camera work and editing in addition to reporting. She’s fluent in French and began her TV career in the bilingual town of Bathurst, New Brunswick. Her first journalism gig was reporting at the London Free Press while completing her Master of Arts in Journalism at Western University in London, Ontario. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in criminology from the University of Ottawa. Since moving to the U.S., she has learned to remove the ‘u’ when writing words like color and favorite, but it still stings. Zulekha is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education at the University of Southern California (USC) with a specialization in organizational change, leadership and equity.
Zulekha, whose family emigrated from East Africa during a time of civil unrest, mentors young journalists and served as a volunteer to help aspiring reporters in conflict zones learn the basics of the craft. She contributed essays about inspiring women to the book, She Changed the World, and wrote the opening chapter in a motivating anthology for young people, Making It in High Heels 3: Innovators and Trailblazers. Zulekha believes there’s no better education than exploring the world. She has traveled across North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe with her journalist husband and their son. In her down time, you’ll find her practicing the perfect samosa fold, learning Spanish or trying to enjoy her favo(u)rite yoga position — corpse pose.
Zulekha Nathoo 