Elissa Candiotti is a Producer at CNN+ where she is the lead field & cutting producer for Big Picture, working on hard news, feature, and enterprise stories. Previously, she was an Associate Producer at NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. During the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Elissa managed the Digital Highlights Factory at NBC Sports, leading a team of 29 Production Assistants during The Games.

Elissa graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2018, studying Broadcast and Digital Journalism. She has dreamed of becoming a journalist from as early as she can remember. She has completed internships at NBC for the 2016 and 2018 Olympics, CBS' Inside Edition, PIX11 News, USA Today and WAER Radio. 

Elissa has experience as both a producer and reporter. Elissa pitches, writes, produces, and researches stories for Nightly News. She produces Headlines for the broadcast, interviews subjects, and builds and edits show graphics during live programming. She has served as a news anchor, reporter, producer, and writer at CitrusTV, Z89 Radio, and NCC News during her time at Syracuse University.

Most recently, Elissa has helped win global and national awards with the Nightly News: Kids Edition team. In 2019, she received the distinguished Edward R. Murrow Excellence in Audio Reporting Award for her time spent in Puerto Rico reporting in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. She also placed First in the National Hearst Radio News and Features 2018 Competition and was named a finalist in the National Championships in June 2018. She has been named a finalist for TV Sports Reporting in both the Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards and the Syracuse Press Club Awards.

In 2017, Elissa received one of the most prestigious honors Syracuse University offers, the Remembrance Scholarship, which helps memorialize the students lost in the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack. She has also received the Louise Schiavoni Prize, George Plavocos Radio Achievement Award, and the Nassau Herald Excellence in Journalism Award to recognize her accomplishments in producing and reporting, passion for storytelling, and tireless commitment to her studies.

Elissa will continue pursuing her career in journalism and will carry with her all of the stories she has had the privilege of sharing thus far.