Hope Street fundraiser 

Toya Washington

Toya Washington joined the WISN 12 News team in December 2002, and is currently serving as co-anchor of the 5 p.m. newscast.  She previously co-anchored the top-rated 6 p.m. newscast, and was a co-anchor and reporter for "12 News This Morning," which airs weekdays from 5 to 7 a.m.  Her reports have included coverage of the 2004 presidential campaign, and interviews with noted national figures, including former Secretary of Health & Human Resources and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, News Anchor Walter Cronkite, Sen. Herb Kohl and the ladies on ABC's "The View."

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Washington's rise through the broadcast journalism ranks has been swift. She came to WISN-TV after six years at WISC-TV, the CBS affiliate and leading station in Madison, Wis., where she worked as a weekend news anchor and reporter. Her career choice in broadcast journalism was influenced early on, after taking part in a unique career enrichment program at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, one of the nation's top-ranking CBS affiliates. Washington graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a BA in broadcast journalism and women’s studies.

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In November 2003, Washington was chosen to emcee the Freedom Fund Reception for the NAACP Waukesha Branch, in which Oprah Winfrey was the keynote speaker. At the dinner, Winfrey commented about Toya, noting she was "a person who was going places."  She has been an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and was involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, while working in Madison.

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Toya lives in Pewaukee with her husband Brian and daughters Alivia and Maya.

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