Biographical Note
Elissa Blake Free was born on October 18, 1955, in Washington, D.C., to Ann Cottrell Free and James S. Free. She received her bachelor of arts in 1978 from Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota. That same year, Free began her career in television news broadcasting when she was hired at CBS as an assistant and researcher. In 1980, she left CBS to begin working at the Washington, D.C., bureau of CNN as a producer. She held various positions as associate and executive producer of nightly and weekly news shows and segments on the network before transitioning to the role of general field assignment producer around 1992. She began working as a story producer around 1996, working with CNN’s Washington correspondents. In 1999, she moved into the newly created position of newsroom manager, where she was responsible for ensuring all assignments and beats were covered and positions were staffed, before leaving CNN in 2001. She married William Ward Nooter in 1983, and their daughter, Amanda Blake Nooter, was born in 1991.