Esther Sun is a journalist based in New York City.
Esther has covered local news at the Sacramento Bee, national news and entertainment at NBC’s TODAY and global press freedom at Voice of America. She also has freelance bylines in The Nation. As city news editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator, she managed metro reporting on West Harlem and Morningside Heights and broke multiple stories on the evictions of historic preschools that made national headlines — the media attention directly led to the reversal of one eviction decision. She also has editorial experience at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Politics and Society Institute in Jordan.
Outside of journalism, Esther has received Columbia’s Academy of American Poets prize, its George Edward Woodberry prize, and the Oxbelly fellowship for her poetry.
A Bay Area native, Esther attends Columbia University as a John Jay Scholar. She spent a semester studying and working in Amman.
The Nation: "Students at Universities Across Jordan Are Protesting for Gaza"
Sacramento Bee: "Sacramento promised to require community benefits from developers. Has the city followed through?"
Sacramento Bee: "‘This life is really temporary’: From Muslim to Buddhist, how Sacramento cares for the dead"
Columbia Daily Spectator: "Columbia to evict long-standing Red Balloon preschool in West Harlem"
Columbia Daily Spectator: "‘In Crisis’: The costs of the Red Balloon eviction for young parents at Columbia"
Sacramento Bee: "The family behind popular rice brand is moving on. Its legacy will continue in Yolo County"