SHARON EPPERSON
CNBC Personal Finance Reporter

Sharon Epperson, an award-winning journalist and author, covers personal finance, the energy markets as well as breaking business and financial news at CNBC. She appears frequently on NBC's "Today," "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," MSNBC, and various NBC affiliates nationwide.

Her personal finance book, The Big Payoff: 8 Steps Couples Can Take To Make The Most Of Their Money -- And Live Richly Ever After (Collins/HarperCollins), is a finalist for the 2008 Books For A Better Life Awards, honoring works that have "changed the lives of millions."

Epperson is also a personal finance columnist for USA WEEKEND magazine and writes for ESSENCE and TIME, where she covered business, culture, social issues and health prior to joining CNBC. Her articles also have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Ebony and SELF.

She has been given numerous accolades for her work. In October 2005, she was presented the Vanguard Award for her distinguished career in business and personal finance reporting by the National Urban League Guild. She received a First Place Award for News Commentary from the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ) in February 2005 for an hour-long program examining Dr. Martin Luther King's “economic legacy” and socio-economic disparities that persist. In June 2003, she received NYABJ’s Trailblazer of the Year Award, which recognizes the achievements of young and mid-career professionals. In addition, for four consecutive years, Epperson achieved NYABJ’s Excellence Award for Business Reporting. She has also garnered the All-Star Award from the Association of Women in Communications, given to women who work or live in the New York City area for outstanding achievements in communications.

In April 2002, Black Enterprise featured Epperson on the cover of its annual investment guide, "Financial News You Can Use," with tips from television commentators. In 2001, the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television selected her series on female CEOs, "Women at the Top," for the prestigious Gracie Allen Award. In 1999, her three-part series on day trading won a Silver World Medal from the New York Festivals, an international television programming competition. In 1995, while a correspondent for TIME, she received a first place honor from the National Association of Black Journalists for team coverage on the magazine's cover story on the Nation of Islam.

Epperson is currently an adjunct lecturer in the School of International Public Affairs at Columbia University, where she teaches a course on professional development for graduate students interested in careers in media and communications.

She holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and government from Harvard University and a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University. A native of Pittsburgh, she and her husband, Christopher John Farley, also an award-winning journalist and author, live in Westchester County, N.Y., with their two children.


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