Meet
Lu Ann Cahn.
It’s the smallest changes that eventually change everything.”
Lu Ann Cahn
Author, Speaker, Journalist, Survivor
Lu Ann Cahn is an eight time Emmy award winning journalist, author and an international keynote speaker. Her book, I Dare Me, published by Penguin/RandomHouse, is based on the year she did one new thing, every single day, 365 years in a row to get her life unstuck. Thousands followed her journey documented on her blog and youtube videos. Lessons learned are at the core of her highly engaging and inspirational keynotes. Lu Ann also brings her experience as a two time cancer survivor to her master storytelling. She currently resides in the Philadelphia area where she teaches media and communication students at Temple University.
MORE ABOUT LU ANN CAHN
Cahn’s journey eventually led to a major career change. In December 2014, she left her 40-year career in broadcast news to dare audiences across the country and help launch the next generation of communicators at Temple University. Cahn served for nine years at the Director of Career Services for Temple University's Klein College of Media and Communication. Today Lu Ann continues to be a career coach and adjunct instructor for Klein College while daring audiences across the globe in-person and virtually.
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Having worked for WCAU-TV for 27 years, Cahn is well known in the Greater Philadelphia Area. During that time, she filled many roles such as breaking news reporter, anchor and entertainment show host; however, arguably her most well-known role is that of a hard-charging investigative reporter with a talent for uncovering scandals and scams. In 2005, Lu Ann won a National Emmy for her undercover investigative story, “Dirty Little Secret,” an investigation about an illegal bar run by elected officials in their dry town.
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LU ANN’S JOURNEY IN TV BROADCAST NEWS
In 1991, Cahn made local and national news when she publicly told her story of battling breast cancer after a missed diagnosis when she was only 35 years old. Her 1992 special report, “Breast Cancer: My Personal Story,” won two Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmys. Cahn also had surgery for ulcerative colitis and kidney cancer. She regularly speaks on behalf of Living Beyond Breast Cancer, other area cancer support groups and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. She hopes her survivor experience inspires others.
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Earlier in her career, Cahn worked at stations in Jacksonville, Florida; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Huntsville, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Miami, Florida. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Cahn grew up in Atlanta and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Georgia. She is married to retired NBC10 photojournalist, Phil Houser, and is still practicing "do the new" with her daughter and two grand babies.