5th Annual Women's History Month Luncheon & Business Development Day Mistress of Ceremonies - Sharon Epperson, CNBC Personal Finance Correspondent

Sharon Epperson, a veteran broadcast and print journalist with more than 10 years experience with national media outlets, has been a correspondent at CNBC since 1996.

Epperson covers personal finance and appears throughout CNBC's Business Day programming. She can also be seen on NBC's "Nightly News," NBC's "Today," "Early Today" and on the MSNBC network and various NBC affiliates nationwide.

In June 2003, Epperson received the Trailblazer of the Year Award from the New York Association of Black Journalists, which recognizes the achievements of young and mid-career professionals, and 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 addition, for four years, Epperson has achieved the New York Association of Black Journalists' Excellence Award for Business Reporting.

Epperson is also a personal finance columnist for Time, where she covered business, culture, social issues and health from 1993 to 1996. During that time, she worked with Time Inc.'s television division, Time New Media, and was a contributor to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and NY 1 News. 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 has also written for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the Boston Globe and the Pittsburgh Press.

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

Epperson holds a bachelor's in government and sociology from Harvard University and a master's in international affairs from Columbia University. A native of Pittsburgh, she lives in New Rochelle, N.Y., with her son and her husband, Christopher John Farley, who is also an award-winning journalist and novelist.