Emily Ariel Byrski

Emily Byrski is a bilingual freelance multimedia journalist based in New York City and Florida telling stories about climate change, social and environmental justice, travel and the tourism industry, and international breaking news, through writing, photography, videography, and social media. 

She previously worked in digital marketing and content creation for over a decade, launching and managing successful digital strategies and campaigns for a number of international brands. She is the founder of a successful lifestyle blog — (Em)pire Style of Mind — which, at its height, had an audience of over 100,000 followers across platforms.

She is an avid traveler and has explored 51 countries to date (and counting). 

In 2017, she received a bachelor’s degree from New York University in Marketing and Environmental Studies.

In 2024, she received a master’s degree in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

While attending Columbia, much of her reporting focused on sustainability in the tourism industry, investigating such stories as the social implications of international frequent flier levies and the ethics of modern tourism as considered through the concept of ‘regenerative travel’ in Morocco. She was also the president of the Climate Reporter’s Network, an affiliate organization which brings together climate journalists with future reporters.

Her reporting and interviews have been featured in The Guardian, The Nation, The Independent, AP News, BBC, NPR, Radio Con Vos (Argentina), CBS News, the Columbia News Service, Four Seasons Magazine, and more.