Cherie Ward

Communications Director, TedX producer

Specializations: Educator; Oral and written communications; Media relations; Writing and producing print, audio and visual media for digital platforms; Organizing and event planning; Writing and editing for technical publications; Event coordination and production; Workshop development, coordination and implementation; Professional Development Specialist;  Moderator/Host/Emcee; Performance Poet/Author; Research, design, implementation and assessment.

Dr. Cherie A. Ward has worked in the fields of television, radio, and film for more than 30 years. A former Miss District of Columbia and representative in the coveted Miss America Pageant, her professional poise is enhanced by educational successes. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism and a Masters of Arts and Teaching Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Her certification as a Reading Specialist, coupled with front line teaching experience within the District of Columbia public/private schools, show her dedication to children, research, and literacy achievement.

Ward has completed her doctoral degree in Communication, Culture and Media Studies from Howard University. Her doctoral thesis: “Using Poetry as a Communication Multimodality to Engage Selected African American Learners in Reading: A Case Study, is a way for her to continue the reading literacy discussion.  She continues to develop, create and implement components of “Lumumba’s Playground” (a half-hour educational children’s television show) and “Laughing and Learning with Language (a multimodal reading literacy program for  learners) K-12, adult emergent, and higher education learners) with poetry and rhythm as its foundation. (See videos and audio.  The show was nominated for a 2012 Telly Award.

Moreover, Dr. Ward has been a performance poet and published with the United States Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum’s Educational Department in reference to the art exhibits “Beauty,” “City Lights,” and “George Segal” to name a few. Finally, she self-published her first book of poetry, “Cherie Ward-One Voice: Empowerment Poetry Echoing Realities of Life.” The one-hour television version was nominated for a Gracie Award.

 
Currently, she is the Jim Vance Media Program Director for Archbishop Carroll High School, Director of Communications/Educational Media Content Producer for the Whole Genome Science Foundation, and, an Adjunct Professor of Public Speaking at the University of the District of Columbia.  Moreover, she is co-founder and former Executive Producer/Event Coordinator for TEDx Howard University, an independently organized event. Her experience as a TEDx expanded licensee affords her the skill set to consult on a variety of TEDx products, services, and curriculum.
 

Finally, Dr. Ward’s artistic work has been selected by jury for the DKG, Delta Kappa Gamma, International Society of Women Educators’ online international art gallery. She has been applauded in the areas of Oratory, Poetry, Filmmaking, Dramatics and Music Composition since 2015. Her book, “By The Rubric of Rhythm, They’ll Read,” will be soon published.
 

Milk It!
-By Cherie Ward
 

Life is short
You must put into it, all that you want to get,
if you find your station in life
Milk it!—

Dig down deep, soul search
evaluate the odds,
weigh the circumstances
and you’ll find it’s not as hard–

As you think
if you but try,
realize there are no limits
you can touch the sky—

and soar
there’s so much more
to life than day to day ex-is-tence,
no matter what one achieves
there’s always an ex-pense–

 A price you pay,

realizing what you give
is what you get,
if you find your station in life
Milk It!