Denisse Oller, the Executive Director for The Joseph A. Unanue Institute for Latin Studies at Seton Hall University, was the first Puerto Rican to anchor a national US news broadcast. Hispanic Business Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential Hispanic Personalities in the United States, and she was chosen as one of the 50 most influential women by the Spanish-language newspaper El Diario La Prensa.
Oller is best known for her work as anchor of CBS Telenoticias, Telemundo’s evening news broadcast, seen in all US Latino markets and in 22 countries across Latin America. Her work includes interviews with Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Daniel Ortega, Oscar Arias, Isabel Allende, Mario Vargas Llosa and Carlos Fuentes, among others.
As a field reporter, Oller covered such major events as the 9/11 terrorist attacks; the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings; the 1993 earthquake in Northridge, California; and the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba, where she interviewed both dissidents and government officials.
Oller has earned five Emmys, nine Emmy nominations, five A.C.E. Awards, two Gracie Awards given by American Women in Radio and Television, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in investigative reporting.
Oller began her journalism career in the mid 1980's as a reporter for Telemundo's local New York station, WNJU-Channel 47. She later joined Univision as anchor of the network's first national weekend newscast and as the network's news bureau chief in Los Angeles.
In 1993, Oller was named anchor of Telemundo's Primera Hora, its national morning newscast. She also served as the network's special political affairs correspondent in Washington D.C. In 1999, she moved on to anchor Univision's award winning newscasts, Noticias 41 a las 6p y a 11p, along with veteran news anchor Rafael Pineda.
Besides her journalistic endeavors, Denisse is a consummate chef. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, she produces and hosts Sabor Latino, a weekly segment highlighting the best of the Latino community which airs weekly on NBC/Telemundo 47 New York. She also heads Newsworks Productions LLC, a multimedia company which provides communications consulting and marketing strategies to reach the Latino community in the US.
Oller sits on the boards of the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families and the Puerto Rican Family Institute, among other non-profit organizations. She lives in Bergen County, New Jersey.