KENS 5 Excel Award

Deborah Knapp is an award-winning television news journalist who demonstrates a strong commitment to community, law enforcement, and the FBI. Ms. Knapp has been an anchorwoman at CBS affiliate KENS 5 TV since 1987. Her numerous national and international assignments include covering Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath in New Orleans, the tragedy at Columbine, and the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Ms. Knapp has been instrumental in developing partnerships between the community and her television station. When gang violence was escalating across the city, Ms. Knapp produced a series of special reports entitled Keep Our Kids Safe, which brought community leaders together in televised forums to solicit community input and support.

In 1999, she helped launch the KENS 5 Excel Award, recognizing an outstanding public school teacher from every local district. Education and community service are important to Ms. Knapp, and in 1994, she established a scholarship at her alma mater, The University of Texas. Each year, a San Antonio student who has demonstrated a commitment to community is awarded the Deborah Knapp Scholarship to help pay for his or her education. Active in the community, Ms. Knapp is currently serving on the boards of the Boy Scouts of America, the FBI San Antonio Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association, the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio, and the Las Misiones Capital Campaign, which raises money to restore San Antonio's historic missions.

A 2008 graduate of the FBI’s Citizens’ Academy, Ms. Knapp produced a number of news stories about her experience attending the class. In March 2010, she traveled to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia to film a series that focused on the Behavioral Science Unit’s development of the Evil Minds Research Museum, which is dedicated to understanding serial killers.

Ms. Knapp has also been instrumental in establishing the FBI San Antonio Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association (CAAA) chapter. She served as secretary for the interim CAAA board and currently sits on the board of directors and chairs the program committee. Her commitment to the chapter has reaped great benefits for the FBI—in less than a year, 80 Citizens’ Academy graduates have become members of the alumni chapter.