View from the Pier

Meg Pier   megpier@viewfromthepier.com

PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER

Accomplished, reliable and passionate travel writer with a reputation for accurate work of integrity in all assignments.  Highly skilled interviewer.  Fastidious researcher.  Proven ability to discern fresh story angles, craft captivating leads, identify timely news hooks, and apply an eye for the colorful details to enliven a story.  Published photographer with juried solo and group exhibits.

Award-winning professional career with world class organizations for which primary responsibility was writing persuasively for the media, while translating complex subjects for the masses. Experience meeting multiple deadlines on a daily basis.

SELECTED WRITING AND TRAVEL AREAS

• The Boston Globe – Travel Section: regular contributor and photographer. Pieces include: the architecture of the Amalfi Coast and Capri; the flora and fauna of the “Floating Flower Pot” of Madeira; the mystery of Maya Ruin of Tikal in Guatemala; the Danish concept of “hygge,” often called the spiritual foundation of Denmark; the phenomenon of home exchanging.

• Vie & Voy on-line Travel Magazine – Regular contributor and photographer. Pieces include: the Maya Ruin of Tikal in Guatemala, Hiking Madeira’s Levadas, The Mix of Misfit Attractions Around California’s Salton Sea.  www.vievoy.com

• Author of “A Vision for Today” – a 365-day book offering an image and thought for each day of the year.  The book features photographs from locales around the globe, captioned by motivational and thought-provoking quotes from sages of all the ages, ranging from Ovid to Oprah.  This volume inspired the recent 6-book series on themes such as serenity, faith, individuality, balance, and life as a journey.

• Travel has spanned every ecosystem: tropical islands, deserts, plains, glaciers, volcanic mountains and coastlines.  Areas visited include: 28 U.S. states, the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Nova Scotia, Bermuda, the Bahamas and numerous Caribbean islands, Central America (Belize, Guatemala), Mexico, all the British Isles,Europe (Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain) and the Philippines.

WRITING-RELATED AWARDS

• PR Week – First Place Award, Small Corporate Communications Team of the Year; nominated and named as one of five finalists of 750 entrants in category of PR Professional of the Year.
• New England Publicity Club – recipient of two organizational identify campaign awards
• New England Press Club – First Place Bell Ringer Award for public affairs campaign
• Bulldog Awards – Bronze Awards for two categories: product/company positioning

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Eaton Vance Corp. Boston, MA
Vice President, Director of Public Relations (5/99-1/08)

•  Generated placements in Barron’s, The Boston Globe, Business Week, The New York Times,Dow Jones, Investor’s Business Daily, Smart Money, thestreet.com, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.

•  Generated 100+ fund manager print profiles including cover stories in major industry publications.

•  Trained management in media relations/interactions and established strong broadcast presence, including hundreds of appearances such as Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser, CNBC, CNNfn, Bloomberg.

•  Produced “Ken Burns” quality video on the company’s history for company-wide 75^th anniversary event.

Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc. Boston, MA/New York, NY
Vice President, Head of Investment Communications (12/98-5/99)

•  Achieved prominent coverage in Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, Kiplinger’s, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal.

•  Crafted long-term story pitches requiring thoughtful development of angle and assessment of risk, buy-in from top management, and strong relationships with important media, including an A1 Wall Street Journal story.

Vice President, Scudder Funds Public Relations (2/96-11/98)

•  Released findings of survey, ultimately resulting in 37 million readers/viewers being reached through coverage on ABC, NBC, CNN and CNBC, in 9 national magazines, 15 major dailies, numerous leading local papers.

Fleet Financial Group Boston, MA/Providence, RI
Vice President (11/94-2/96)

• Generated placements resulting in placements in Business Week, CNN, Forbes, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, and The Wall Street Journal.

• Recommended crisis and issues management strategies to key executives; involved in managing communications for related “60 Minutes” piece and subsequent press interest.

Assistant Vice President (4/92-10/94)

• Hired to create media identity as Fleet entered the Massachusetts marketplace upon acquisition of the failed Bank of New England.

• Initiated campaign to heighten visibility of company and its senior management.

BayBanks Boston, MA
Assistant Vice President (7/89-1/92)

• Introduced company’s first publicity reporting and analysis system.

Public Relations Officer (12/87-6/89)

• Proposed and implemented product publicity campaigns, which included positioning products, writing press materials, briefing management prior to interviews, and organizing press events.

• Handled company-wide sponsorships, including soliciting and evaluating proposals, publicizing events/relationships.

Public Relations Specialist (2/87-11/87)

• Planned and executed annual shareholders meeting and other events ranging from 120 to 2,500 attendees; proposed program content to management, wrote speeches, negotiated with vendors, supervised production of audiovisual presentations.

• Edited quarterly internal magazine distributed to 6,500 employees.

U.S. News & World Report Washington, DC
Special Projects Coordinator, Public Relations (1/86-11/86)

• One of three founding members of the magazine’s public relations department.
• Managed press relations surrounding Moscow correspondent Nick Daniloff’s imprisonment by KGB, and his subsequent release and return to the U.S.
• Created and marketed U.S. News’ Speakers Bureau.
• Pitched weekly editorial content of magazine to other outlets; coordinated interviews.

Senior Editorial Assistant, News Department (4/84-12/85)

• Planned and coordinated logistics of news coverage of national/international news events, such as 1984 political conventions and Geneva and Reykjavik summits.

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