Isabel O’Brien is a multi-media journalist reporting on business, tech, and climate. She is currently a reporter fellow at the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, to be placed at CNBC (San Francisco Bureau) in September 2026.

Her work has appeared in The Guardian, WIRED, Investopedia, and other outlets, where she covers a variety of topics including climate finance, emissions disclosures, and regulatory blind spots. Previously, she was the Editor in Chief of Portco News, an independent publication covering how private equity runs its portfolio companies, as well as a reporter at Infrastructure Investor (PEI Group) covering North and Latin American private infrastructure.

Isabel’s work has earned multiple honors, including two Aviva Investors Sustainability Media Awards (2022, 2023), a screenwriting award at the New York Script Awards, and a semifinalist spot at the 2024–25 Athena Film Festival Writers Lab. In 2025 she was named an "Emerging Leader" in writing and journalism by Marquis Who's Who.

She is also the co-founder and president of The Association of Women in Business Journalism, an international initiative supporting non-male journalists on her beat.

Isabel holds degrees from Sciences Po Paris (the Paris Institute of Political Science), Columbia University, and the London School of Economics.