Editor, reporter Pia Sarkar named AP's deputy editor for east region

Pia Sarkar, a veteran reporter, editor and newsroom leader, has been named deputy editor for the east for The Associated Press, charged with helping to oversee news coverage in 10 states.

The appointment was announced Monday by Karen Testa, editor for the news cooperative's east region, which includes New England, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"Pia brings the experience and enthusiasm to be a strong leader in developing sharp news content across formats," Testa said. "Her competitive fire and collaborative nature make her a great fit for working with reporters and editors across our region to build on AP's role as an essential source of news."

Sarkar, 42, served most recently as executive editor of The American Lawyer website and the Am Law Daily newsletters, where she provided a strategic direction for the site and led a team onsite and remotely in producing competitive content on national law firm business.

Sarkar spent seven years as a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she covered some of the most iconic companies in the area, including Gap, Apple and Levi Strauss. At the Daily Journal legal publication, where she spent three years as associate editor, Sarkar oversaw coverage of California's Proposition 8 gay marriage ban and its eventual undoing on appeal. She also worked as a reporter at TheStreet.com, a financial news site, covering national retail chains and major internet companies; at Pensions & Investments; at The Record of Woodland Park, New Jersey; and for The Providence Journal in Rhode Island.

Outside the newsroom, Sarkar served as president, vice president and board member of the Asian American Journalists Association in San Francisco.

Sarkar is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.

She succeeds Evan Berland, who was promoted to AP's global news manager for weekends, and will begin her new role June 1.