{{Short description|Canadian journalist (born 1972)}} {{infobox person | name = Michelle Shephard | image = Michelle Shephard.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1972}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | other_names = | known_for = | awards = Michener Award, National Newspaper Awards | occupation = Author, journalist, filmmaker | spouse = Jim Rankin }} '''Michelle Shephard''' (born 1972<ref>[https://repository.duke.edu/dc/witnesstoguantanamo/cadd23cb-b373-4811-a008-4fbf30ad77ed Witness to Guantanamo Video Collection, 2009-2017. Shephard, Michelle - Interview master file.] Duke University Libraries - Human Rights Archive, July 15, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2026.</ref>) is an independent [[investigative reporter]] (previously with the ''[[Toronto Star]]'' newspaper), author and filmmaker.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2009/01/22/january-22-2009/|title=The Current|publisher=[[CBC News]]|author=Anna Maria Tremonti|date=2009-01-22|accessdate=2013-01-15|quote=For her thoughts on all of this, we were joined by Michelle Shephard. She's a reporter with the Toronto Star and the author of Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr and she was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114062214/http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2009/01/22/january-22-2009/|archive-date=2010-11-14}}</ref> She has been awarded the [[Michener Award]] for public service journalism and won Canada's top newspaper prize, the National Newspaper Award, three times.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bio {{!}} Michelle Shephard |url=http://www.michelleshephard.ca/wp/?page_id=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908045559/http://www.michelleshephard.ca/wp/?page_id=2 |archive-date=2015-09-08 |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.michelleshephard.ca |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2011, she was an associate producer on a documentary called ''Under Fire: Journalists in Combat''.<ref> {{cite news|url=http://thestar.blogs.com/politics/2011/11/charles-lynch-award.html|title=Charles Lynch award|publisher=[[Toronto Star]]|date=2011-11-20|accessdate=2013-01-15|archivedate=2012-06-11|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611212132/http://thestar.blogs.com/politics/2011/11/charles-lynch-award.html|url-status=dead|quote=This has been an excellent past few days for women at the Toronto Star. One of my colleagues, Michelle Shephard, has a film credit as associate producer for the documentary, Under Fire: Journalists in Combat, which is on the short list for an Oscar nomination.}} </ref> She produced the National Film Board documentary, ''Prisoners of the Absurd'', which premiered at Amsterdam's film festival in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Michelle Shephard|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4889456/|website=IMDb|accessdate=2015-09-21}}</ref> Shephard also co-directed a film based on her book about [[Omar Khadr]], ''[[Guantanamo's Child]]'', which premiered at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] in September 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title="Guantanamo's Child": Michelle Shephard on Omar Khadr's case|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episode-250-home-schooling-and-sex-ed-omar-khadr-doc-drunk-politicking-negotiating-with-terrorists-more-1.3224187/guantanamo-s-child-michelle-shephard-on-omar-khadr-s-case-1.3224360|accessdate=2015-09-21}}</ref>
Shephard was the 2015 recipient of the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.<ref name=Cjf-fjcAtkinson2015-06-21/><ref name=VoiceOfToronto2015-06-21/>
==Life== Michelle grew up in [[Thornhill, Ontario]], and attended [[Thornhill Secondary School]].{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} She began working at the ''Star'' in 1995 as a summer student, when she met her future husband Jim Rankin.<ref> {{cite news|url=http://www.rrj.ca/m3476/|title=More Than a Love of Craft: Journalists dish on the pleasures and the pitfalls of romance in the biz|publisher=[[Toronto Metropolitan University|Ryerson School of Journalism]]|author=Emily Mills|date=March 2005|archivedate=2013-01-16|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116022550/http://www.rrj.ca/m3476/|url-status=live|quote=After joining the Star permanently, Shephard occasionally collaborated with her husband at work. Known for solid investigative reporting, the duo shared bylines on stories from Walkerton's tainted water to Paul Bernardo's trial.}}</ref> Shephard left the ''[[Toronto Star]]'' in July 2018 when the paper closed its foreign news department.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inside the Toronto Star's Bold Plan to Save Itself |url=https://thewalrus.ca/inside-the-toronto-stars-bold-plan-to-save-itself/ |website=The Walrus |date=10 May 2018}}</ref> She is the author of ''Guantanamo's Child'', a book that revolves about the ordeal of [[Omar Khadr]] in the [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay detention camps]].<ref>[http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Guantanamos-Child-Untold-Story-Omar-Michelle-Shephard/9780470841174-item.html?pticket=2wtexpqqm41c0zek31fx2jzrOFkPagJP0eD0S%2bh0xv%2bptQVNFcQ%3d Amazon: Guantanamo's Child]</ref> She was also thanked in the foreword of the 2006 book ''Betrayed: The Assassination of [[Digna Ochoa]]'' by fellow ''Star'' reporter Linda Diebel, as well as [[Marina Nemat]]'s 2008 book ''Prisoner of Tehran''.<ref>{{cite news|isbn=9781443403498|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=x8n0bm-St8cC&q=shephard|title=Betrayed: The Assassination of Digna Ochoa|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|author=Linda Diebel|year=2012|accessdate=2013-01-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|isbn=9780143179207|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2Y2HxcNWekC&q=shephard|title=Prisoner of Tehran: One Woman's Story of Survival Inside an Iranian Prison|publisher=[[Penguin Canada]]|author=Marina Nemat|author-link=Marina Nemat|date=2008-04-01|accessdate=2013-01-15}}</ref>
Her second book, ''Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone'', was published in September 2011.<ref name=DecadeOfFear>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/decadeoffearrepo0000shep|url-access=registration|isbn=9781553656586|title=Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone|author=Michelle Shephard|publisher=[[Douglas & McIntyre]]|quote=Daniel Fried was on board with his deputy, Tony Ricci, a retired U.S. Army colonel with previous posts in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.|date=2011-09-13|accessdate=2013-01-28}}</ref> The book was nominated for one of Canada's most prestigious literary awards, the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bcachievement.com/nonfiction/longlist.php|title=British Columbia Achievement Foundation|publisher=Bcachievement.com|date=2012-12-04|accessdate=2013-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115182413/http://www.bcachievement.com/nonfiction/longlist.php|archive-date=2012-11-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/public-editor/english-covering-the-terror-beat/article_33556391-ee17-5bce-bd3c-b5d9603bd9fb.html|title=Covering the terror beat|publisher=[[Toronto Star]]|date=2011-09-09| author=Kathy English|accessdate=2011-09-11}}</ref>
In 1999, she came into possession of copies of convicted murderer [[Karla Homolka]]'s application to transfer to the ''Maison Thérèse-Casgrain'', run by the [[Elizabeth Fry Society]], and published the story noting the [[halfway house]]'s proximity to local schools, hours before the Canadian courts issued a [[publication ban]] on the information.<ref>{{cite news|isbn=9780771039621|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3el8q1-GWCEC|title=Con Game: The Truth about Canada's Prisons|publisher=[[McClelland & Stewart]]|author=Michael Harris|year=2003|page=133}}</ref>
On September 11, 2001, the day [[al-Qaeda]] [[September 11 attacks|attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon]], Shephard described going to the airport to fly to [[New York City]], only to find all flights in North America had been ordered to land and no new flights were being allowed to take off.<ref name=VancouverSun2011-09-09>{{cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/book+details+grey+zone+terror/5378835/story.html|title=New book details 'grey zone' in war on terror|publisher=[[Vancouver Sun]]|date=2011-09-09|author=Jordan Press|accessdate=2011-09-11}}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> So she and two other ''Toronto Star'' reporters drove to New York City, arriving at the Ontario/New York State border shortly before it too was shut down. Covering 9/11 began her career as a national security reporter. [[File:Michelle Shephard 2.jpg|left|thumb|Shephard during an interview with [[Khalid Khawaja]] in [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]].]] In 2006, she attended a hostile environment training course in Virginia, in preparation for her overseas reporting.<ref name="TorStar2009-11-28">{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/732008--amanda-lindhout-gutsy-reporter-or-naive-thrill-seeker|title=Amanda Lindhout: Gutsy Reporter or Naive Thrill-seeker?|publisher=[[Toronto Star]]|author=Michelle Shephard|date=2009-11-28|accessdate=2013-01-15|archivedate=2011-01-10|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110025729/http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/732008--amanda-lindhout-gutsy-reporter-or-naive-thrill-seeker| url-status=live|quote=Many media outlets send their staff to "hostile environment training" courses to help prepare for this reality, among others. In 2006, I spent a memorable week in a Virginia field getting roughed up by ex-British marines, who seemed to relish the opportunity to yank me out of the car by my hair and throw a burlap sack on my head in a fake hostage-taking.}}</ref> Her foreign reporting from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia has included [[Somalia]], [[Yemen]], [[Pakistan]], [[Djibouti]], [[Kenya]], [[Syria]], and [[Dubai]].<ref name="TorStar2011-03-05">{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/949519--yemen-both-dangerous-and-beautiful|title=Yemen both dangerous and beautiful|publisher=[[Toronto Star]]|date=2011-03-05|archivedate=2011-03-09| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309045029/http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/949519--yemen-both-dangerous-and-beautiful}}</ref>
In 2010, she was banned from Guantanamo along with ''Miami Herald'' reporter [[Carol Rosenberg]], Globe and Mail's Paul Koring and CanWest reporter Steven Edwards for identifying an interrogator who had been convicted for his role in the death of an Afghan detainee in U.S. detention in Bagram. The Pentagon lifted the ban following an outcry by various news outlets, including the ''New York Times'', and an appeal by the Pentagon Press Association.<ref name="McClatchy2010-07-08">{{cite news|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/08/97219/pentagon-allows-banned-reporter.html|title=Pentagon allows banned reporter to return to Guantanamo|publisher=[[McClatchy News Service]]|author=Lesley Clark|date=2010-07-08|accessdate=2013-01-15|archivedate=2010-07-16|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716184152/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/08/97219/pentagon-allows-banned-reporter.html|url-status=live|quote=The decision comes a week after a coalition of major news organizations, including McClatchy, protested as unconstitutional the rules that were used in May to ban Rosenberg and three Canadian reporters from the commissions.}}</ref> The ''Washington Post'' condemned the Pentagon for trying to exclude four "veteran" reporters with "a depth of knowledge."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/10/AR2010061004593.html|title=Pentagon should rescind decision to expel reporters from Guantanamo Friday, June 11, 2010|newspaper=Washington Post|date=2010-06-11|accessdate=2013-01-15}}</ref>
In 2019, Shephard hosted ''Uncover: Sharmini'', the fifth season of CBC's crime podcast ''[[Uncover (podcast)|Uncover]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vandonk |first=Todd |date=2019-10-05 |title=Peterborough rapist Stanley Tippett focus of CBC podcast Uncover: Sharmini |url=https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/9630345-peterborough-rapist-stanley-tippett-focus-of-cbc-podcast-uncover-sharmini/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006022348/https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/9630345-peterborough-rapist-stanley-tippett-focus-of-cbc-podcast-uncover-sharmini/ |archive-date=2019-10-06 |access-date=2026-05-28 |work=MyKawartha.com |language=en-CA}}</ref>
==Panels== In 2004, she co-hosted a Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement panel following up on the ''Star''<nowiki/>'s series on racial bias in the police force, subtitled "Stagnation, Progress or a Turn in the Wrong Direction?" along with her husband and Scott Simmie.<ref name=Ceris2004/> She co-hosted a 2006 [[Round table (discussion)|round table]] event with the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies with other Canadian journalists including Stewart Bell and Colin Freeze entitled "The Media and the Secret World".<ref name=Casis/>
In April 2008, she co-hosted a lecture entitled "The Big Idea: The [[International Criminal Court|ICC]], American Empire and the Search for the Rule of Law" with [[Erna Paris]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ernaparis.com/the-big-idea-whose-justice/|title=The Big Idea: Whose Justice?|publisher=ernaparis.com|year=2011|archivedate=2013-01-16|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116020409/http://www.ernaparis.com/the-big-idea-whose-justice/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In April 2013, she delivered the Atkinson Lecture on her years as a national security correspondent.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cjfe.org/blog/michelle-shephard-gives-2013-atkinson-lecture|title=Michelle Shephard gives 2013 Atkinson Lecture|publisher=[[Canadian Journalists for Free Expression]]|author=Laura Tribe|date=2013-04-13|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513033829/http://www.cjfe.org/blog/michelle-shephard-gives-2013-atkinson-lecture|archivedate=2013-05-13|accessdate=2014-02-03|url-status=live|quote=Toronto Star national security reporter Michelle Shephard is giving this year's Atkinson lecture at Ryerson University, discussing her experiences reporting on security both in Canada and internationally.}}</ref>
==Awards==
In June 2015, Shephard was awarded the prestigious year-long Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.<ref name=Cjf-fjcAtkinson2015-06-21/><ref name=VoiceOfToronto2015-06-21/> The fellowship lasts a year and awards the fellow a grant of $75,000, and up to an additional $25,000 for research, to pursue a public policy issue of their choice.<ref name=AtkinsonA/><ref name=TorStar2015-06-03/>
==Works== *{{cite book| title=Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr|date=12 February 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-67546-5}} *{{cite book|title=Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone|date=26 August 2011|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55365-659-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/decadeoffearrepo0000shep}} *''Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd''. National Film Board of Canada, 2014.<ref>{{Citation|title=Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd|url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/uyghurs_prisoners_of_the_absurd|accessdate=2015-09-21|first=National Film Board of|last=Canada}}</ref> *''[[Guantanamo's Child]]''. White Pine Pictures, 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TIFF.net {{!}} Guantanamo's Child: Omar Khadr |url=http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/tiffdocs/guantanamos-child-omar-khadr|website=TIFF|accessdate=2015-09-21|first=Toronto International Film|last=Festival|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907184236/http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/tiffdocs/guantanamos-child-omar-khadr|archivedate=2015-09-07}}</ref> *''[[The Perfect Story]]''. National Film Board of Canada, 2022.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Perfect Story|url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/perfect-story/|accessdate=2024-05-10|first=National Film Board of|last=Canada}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2|refs=<ref name=VoiceOfToronto2015-06-21>{{cite news|url=http://voiceoftoronto.com/wp/2015/06/highlights-from-the-canadian-journalism-foundation-awards/|title=Highlights from the Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards|publisher=Voice of Toronto|date=2015-06-21|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623030423/http://voiceoftoronto.com/wp/2015/06/highlights-from-the-canadian-journalism-foundation-awards/|archivedate=2015-06-23|accessdate=2015-08-28|url-status=dead|quote=The Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy provides a seasoned Canadian journalist with $100,000 and an opportunity to pursue a year-long investigation into a current policy issue. It is sponsored by the Atkinson Foundation, the Toronto Star and the Honderich family. This year’s recipient is Michelle Shephard, national security reporter for the Toronto Star, author and filmmaker. For her fellowship, she plans to produce character-driven pieces on the effectiveness of Canada’s public policies related to national security.}}</ref> <ref name=Cjf-fjcAtkinson2015-06-21>{{cite news|url=http://www.cjf-fjc.ca/awards/atkinson-fellowship-public-policy|title=Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy|publisher=[[Canadian Journalism Foundation]]|date=2015-06-21|accessdate=2015-08-28}}</ref> <ref name=Ceris2004>{{cite news|url=http://ceris.metropolis.net/annual%20reports/03-04%20report/2003-04%20Annual%20Report.pdf|title=Annual Activities Report to SSHRC Phase II Metropolis Project|publisher=Joint Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement – Toronto|date=2004|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505113545/http://ceris.metropolis.net/annual%20reports/03-04%20report/2003-04%20Annual%20Report.pdf|archivedate=2006-05-05|accessdate=2015-08-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name=Casis> {{cite news|url=http://www.casis.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14%3A2006-conference-programme&catid=49%3Aconferences&Itemid=29&lang=en|title=CASIS 2006 Conference Programme|publisher=[[CASIS]]|date=2006|accessdate=2015-08-28}}</ref> <ref name=TorStar2015-06-03> {{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/06/03/toronto-star-staff-win-two-awards-and-two-fellowships-at-journalism-gala.html|title=Toronto Star staff win two awards and two fellowships at journalism gala|publisher=[[Toronto Star]]|author=Tara Deschamps|date=2015-06-03|accessdate=2015-08-28|quote=Meanwhile, Michelle Shephard, the Star’s national security reporter, was bestowed with the 27th annual Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, giving her a stipend for a year’s worth of reporting on the threat of violence posed by young people joining the Islamic State.}}</ref> <ref name=AtkinsonA>{{cite news|url=http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/grants/atkinson-awards/|title=Investing in policy discourse and program excellence|publisher=[[Atkinson Foundation]]|accessdate=2015-08-28|quote=The Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy provides a seasoned Canadian journalist with the financial means to pursue a year-long investigation into a current policy issue. This award is a collaborative project of the Atkinson Foundation, the Honderich Family and Toronto Star.|archive-date=2014-07-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720000511/http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/grants/atkinson-awards/|url-status=dead}}</ref> }}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.michelleshephard.ca/}} *{{IMDb name|4889456}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shephard, Michelle}} [[Category:Canadian documentary film directors]] [[Category:Canadian women journalists]] [[Category:Canadian women non-fiction writers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1972 births]] [[Category:Film directors from Ontario]] [[Category:Toronto Star people]] [[Category:People from Thornhill, Ontario]] [[Category:Writers from Ontario]] [[Category:Canadian documentary film producers]] [[Category:Canadian women film producers]] [[Category:Canadian women documentary filmmakers]] [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Canadian women film directors]] [[Category:Canadian Screen Award winning directors]] [[Category:Canadian crime podcasters]]