About Me

Born and raised on the North Side of Chicago, Esther J. Cepeda started writing before her scribbles adequately conveyed her musings. She attended Lane Technical High School then went on to Southern Illinois University, earning a Bachelor's degree in journalism with minors in music and psychology. After being awarded a full scholarship to the Medill School of Journalism, she studied Integrated Marketing Communications there before going into direct marketing and public relations for a variety of Chicago companies.

In 2002 Ms. Cepeda began teaching as a bilingual teacher in low-income grammar and high schools in the suburbs of Chicago while working toward a Master's degree in Special Education from Roosevelt University.

Before joining the Chicago Sun-Times in 2006, then becoming Chicago's first Latino metro columnist, Ms. Cepeda wrote about national and local politics and social issues for Illinois newspapers and magazines across the country. She was a 2007 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists nominee and a candidate for the General Federation of Women's Clubs' 2007 Croly Award.

Selected as a Columbia University “Next Generation Project” American Assembly Fellow in 2007, Ms. Cepeda was recently named a National Fellow and in June 2008 convened with over one hundred nationally-selected young leaders at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to strategize on U.S. Global Policy and the Future of International Institutions.

She self-syndicates the “600 Words” column on www.600words.com, is indexed by the Newstex Company, and distributed nationally by Scripps-Howard News Service and BlogBurst.

Ms. Cepeda is currently the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission which makes college possible for Illinois students and families through grants and student loans.

She serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Headline Club, the largest chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, The Chicago Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Executives’ Club of Chicago.

Ms. Cepeda is a musician, singer, dancer and an artist and continues her commitment to the arts by serving on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Sinfonietta – America’s most diverse symphony, and the official orchestra of the Joffrey Ballet. She also the Chair of the Chicago Arts & Business Council’s 2008 Gala.

Esther, 50% Warrior. 50% Lover. 100% Chihuahua, lives with her family and two tan Chihuahuas in a suburb of Chicago.