Margo Pierce

Cincinnati, OH USA
Contact

Professional Experience

With more than 15 years of experience in the field of communications, Im an award-winning writer with diverse interests. I have an extensive portfolio that includes business writing (white papers, news releases, etc.) and over 500 published feature stories, news articles, columns, blog posts and web features. My work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the United States and Canada on a variety of topics, including STEM subjects, education, women in STEM, public policy and social justice. Im a Fellow of the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution and have earned multiple journalism awards.

Expertise

Copywriter
5 Years
Reporter
10 Years
Writer
16 Years

Specialty

Education
10 Years
Science
3 Years
Women's Issues
15 Years

Industries


Magazine - Trade magazines/publications (B2B)
4 Years
Newspaper - Local/Regional
5 Years
Online/new media
10 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

11 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

EXPO Magazine (10+), T.H.E. Journal (10+), American Association for the Advancement of Scienc (10+), Earth Island Magazine (1-2), Denver VOICE (6-10), US Healthcare Journals (3-5)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Cincinnati Public Schools (6-10), Department 26 (3-5), Desky (3-5), Chart Marketing (10+)

Other Work History

Clifton Cultural Arts Center Programs and Events Manager Parker LePla Senior Account Manager SDRC Manager Sales Support Communications Administrative Specialist Clermont Chamber of Commerce Events and Programs Director Communication Director

Technical Skills

Digital photography

Computer Skills

All MS Office Suite programs

Equipment

Digital Camera (Cannon) Digital recorder (Zoom) Desktop, laptop, handheld computers Digital scanner Copy/fax machine

References

Media and Corporate available upon request

Awards

First Place, North American Street Newspaper Association: Best News Article (2011) Finalist, North American Street Newspaper Association; Best Feature Article (2011) Semi-Finalist, The Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship (2011) Contributor of the Year, Streetvibes (2010) Peter Jennings Fellow, The Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution (2009) Finalist, Richard J. Margolis Award (2008) First Place, Society of Professional Journalists: Special Section (shared award)(2007) Second Place, Society of Professional Journalists: News Feature (2007)

Showcase

Science

Just about every public policy issue has a scientific component, whether it's hidden or obvious; but the facts and insights science brings to deliberations can often go unaddressed. This happens because elected officials tend to shy away from science.
The most recent effort to bring about rule changes for physician assistants in Louisiana failed. This is not the first time the Louisiana American Academy of Physician Assistants has attempted to get restrictions lifted on their scope of practice. Now they plan to ask state legislators for help.
An outspoken believer in the power of "clear and vivid" science communication, AAAS member and actor Alan Alda works widely with scientists to help them better share their explorations and discoveries.

STEM

What can someone who is unable to walk, hear or see or in some way function like the majority of able-bodied individuals contribute to science, technology or engineering? Ask Cary Supalo. He'll tell you that so-called disabilities can be STEM assets.
What do a paleontologist, chemist and astronomer have in common? In the case of a Lego set called Research Institute, it's the fact that they're all women. They aren't wearing short skirts or all-pink clothing. They have the professional appearance and tools of their trade.

Women's Issues

Lauren Schultz is going into her third year of studies in mechanical engineering at the University of Cincinnati (UC). She has yet to experience overt sexism in her but there are subtle indications of what she already knows: Some STEM fields are predominantly male.
I am a survivor from the life, of the life of prostitution. Everything that we represent here, I am a survivor of-domestic violence, prostitution, drug addiction, criminal justice system, homelessness, rape, all of that.

Social Justice

When a hospital is a tent without electricity or running water in a place accessible only by plane before or after the rainy season, practicing medicine might seem impossible. Yet that's exactly where Dr. Peter Reynaud and Dr. Monica Dhand wish to continue their practice.
In conjunction with Hamilton County Job and Family Services and Juvenile Court, which has legal custody of kids, Lighthouse Youth Services puts teens who are working or going to school into their own furnished apartment and pays all of their bills to teach them how to survive.

Technology

Soft skill tests, college planners, and neuropsych evaluations are some of the traditional tools of the school counseling trade. Because school counselors have multiple goals they need a variety of resources at their disposal.
When computers are pervasive in everyday life, many educators still question the value of children becoming articulate in the language of technology-programming. But as STEM shifts curricula, coding is getting a second look.

Environment

Cloud computing is touted as a "green" technology, but this claim fails to take into consideration the full environmental impact of the scalable resource.
Laughing Brook is an empty streambed in Salway Park near Spring Grove Cemetery, an engineered waterway with pieces of sculpture mixed in among boulders and small rocks, a concrete gully on its way to being a funky piece of public art - and more.

Education

"A lot of teachers are not trained in science or math or engineering. Their degree's in elementary education," says Dr. Billy G. Hudson, the co-founder of Aspirnaut, an education outreach program. This need gave rise to the use of video conferencing to teach STEM labs in rural schools.
In the digital age, filtering is the "garden wall" designed to keep bad stuff and dangerous people away from children so they are free to focus on learning (not video games). But this "protection" is achieving the opposite of what many educators claim to want for students.