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Today's Featured Biography
Zina Pierre
Zina C. Pierre is founding President and CEO of the Washington Linkage Group, Inc. (WLG) located in Washington, DC. WLG is a government relations and strategic consulting firm specializing in lobbying, public relations, corporate affairs and international trade. She also serves as an associate minister at The Temple of Praise in Washington, DC.
Pierre’s partial client list includes: Mayors of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Prince George’s County Executive, AT&T, General Motors, Holiday Inn, Democratic National Committee, National Conference of Democratic Mayors, The Haney Group LLC, National Conference of Black Mayors, Center for Policy Alternatives and Bishop David G. Evans Ministries.
A noted speaker and advocate on women’s issues, public policy and politics for more than 20 years, Pierre has an extensive background in government relations at the federal, state and local levels of government. She served eight years in the Clinton Administration with her last commissioned officer position as special assistant to the President for intergovernmental affairs. In that role, - the Honorable Zina Pierre served as President Bill Clinton’s liaison to the nation’s mayors and county officials in the Executive Office of the President.
Prior to her position in the White House, Pierre worked successfully to help create public-private partnerships with local government and the business community to hire more than 200,000 former welfare recipients while serving as director of the President’s Welfare to Work Initiative for the U.S. Small Business Administration. During her tenure, Pierre co-authored a tool kit on welfare reform. Before SBA, she held the position of director of communications for the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau where she developed public relations strategies for working women, as well as organized multi-city summits to educate women on their workplace rights. Pierre began her political appointment as speechwriter and public affairs specialist to the Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management where she was responsible for the production host of a live nationally televised federal government talk show.
Previous to her eight years in government, Pierre worked for more than ten years in the television broadcast industry as a writer, field producer, and production assistant with networks such as USA Today Television Show, Fox Channel 5 News, America’s Most Wanted, Sports News Network and News Channel 8. She currently serves on several national and local boards including: Exec. Board of The White House Project, Vice Chair of “The Future PAC” – a national African American women’s political action committee created to raise funds to support African American women running for public office, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation Women’s Round Table, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Women’s Vote Center, Washington Dance Theatre, DC Arts Commission (past), Annapolis Children and Family Services, former alternate for the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee, founding board member of the Anne Arundel County Black Chamber of Commerce, African American Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, and the Annapolis Ministerial. Pierre also formerly served on the executive boards of the National Council of Negro Women, the Greater Washington Urban League and Chair of the Board for the National Youth Connection.
In 1999, Pierre was appointed by the Secretary of State as a Good Will Ambassador for the State of Georgia, as well as given the honors of an official Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky. Pierre was a contributing writer to Dr. Dorothy I. Height’s 1997 book “Voices of Vision.” Her commitment to women’s empowerment has afforded her opportunities to speak to diverse audiences globally from the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Conference, National Women’s Political Caucus, and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Leadership Series to Bishop T.D. Jakes “Woman Thou Art Loosed” conference. She has served as guest preacher in South Africa and the Caribbean.
Pierre has also conducted communications and advocacy training for the: DNC, ACLU, SEIU, NAACP, National Urban League, People for the American Way, Center for Policy Alternatives, Children’s Defense Fund, Catholic Charities, New Jersey and Maryland Democratic parties, the National Conference of Black Mayors and State Legislators across the nation.
In the educational field, Pierre has guest lectured on political, public policy and women’s issues at Georgetown University, Florida A & M University, George Washington University, University of St. Louis, Howard University, University of Maryland, Frostburg State, State of Georgia Juvenile Justice Department and abroad to women elected officials in East, West and South Africa. She also conducted several workshops on economic empowerment with motivational speakers Les Brown and Willie Jolley. In the fall of 2006, she has been selected to serve as adjunct professor at George Washington’s School of Public Policy.
Pierre has been sited in numerous print media’s such as Essence Magazine article as one of the countries most “Powerhouse, Political Black Women”, Black Enterprise; Marie Claire, Sister to Sister, JET, Influence Magazine, Washington Post; the New York Post, National Public Radio, Christian Science Monitor. She has been inducted into the Black History Makers Hall of Fame, “Who’s Who in the World,” “Who’s Who in Business,” and the Council for Excellence in Government. She is the recipient of the following awards: Citation for “Exemplary Public Service,” Ron Brown Economic Development Award by Minority Business Magazine, “Outstanding Government Official of the Year” by the Minority Business Suppliers, NAACP “National Service Award”, Delta Sigma Theta “Woman of Fortitude” Award for Political Involvement, Federally Employed Women “Leadership” Award, three-time recipient of former Vice President Gore’s “Heroes of Reinvention” Award, and the National Conference of Black Mayors “Outstanding Service” recognition.
Pierre was the first woman licensed to preach in the 115 year history of her childhood church, the First Baptist Church of Annapolis where she served for eight years as youth minister. She previously served as an associate minister and press secretary to Rev. Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of Catholic University of America and is a returning student pursuing her Masters of Divinity degree at the Howard University School of Divinity.
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