About Estephani

When I was interning at CNN in 2018, a stack of letters arrived on my desk—written by mothers held in detention after being separated from their children at the U.S.–Mexico border. My only assignment was to translate those letters from Spanish to English. There were ten letters, and each one felt as if my own mother had written it. The same expressions—“mi hijita” (my little daughter)—and the same blessings right before saying goodbye. Some of the women had left their relatives’ phone numbers, so I began calling them. Within days, I started receiving phone calls directly from detention centers; the mothers wanted me to speak with them and share their stories. Weeks later, I met a couple of them in person, at the exact moment they were reunited with their children. Those reunions became two feature videos for the digital video team, where I was still just an intern.

I can say that dozens of similar situations have happened throughout the years I’ve worked as a journalist. I take every one of them personally, because just like those mothers, anyone who gives me access to their story—their vulnerability—becomes someone I feel a responsibility toward.

That is how I’ve been reporting, writing, producing, filming, and editing stories across nearly every format—print, TV, digital video, and now documentary. I’ve worked in newsrooms including Univision, Telemundo, CNN, Refinery29, and The Miami Herald, telling stories about immigration, racial injustice, healthcare inequities, human trafficking, mass shootings, and politics.

I earned two master’s degrees—one in Spanish-Language Journalism from Florida International University and another in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. I also completed a professional certificate in Entrepreneurial Journalism. And although I’m bilingual, throughout this journey I fell in love with an even deeper language: visual storytelling. I learned that many times, not even all the words in the world can match the emotional connection created by a few seconds of a personal, powerful video. It has also given me the immense privilege of getting to know the people at the center of these stories far more deeply.

This is the work I want to do for the rest of my life. So, if you’re interested in collaborating—on journalism, film, or something in between—let’s talk. And if you have a story to tell and want to give me the privilege of knowing it and documenting it, let’s talk too.