Mary Pieschek
About Mary Pieschek…
Mary Pieschek is president of Pieschek Public Relations, a multiservice public relations and fundraising consulting firm based in Grafton, Wisconsin.
Her career as a public relations, fundraising, communications, strategic planning, and political training consultant, has been highlighted by honors such as Outstanding Journalist in Wisconsin by the Associated Press and Outstanding Alumnus by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Mary is an adjunct professor at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, and also has served on the faculty of several University of Wisconsin campuses. She’s an award-winning speech writer and an experienced investor relations and government relations professional.
In addition to her work as an independent consultant, Mary’s leadership experience includes service as a college vice president of development and public relations, and as a fundraising officer and board member at several non-profit organizations. To date, fundraising campaigns Mary has designed and managed have raised approximately $10 million for a variety of nonprofits and colleges. Most recently, she authored an extensive case for support for a $21 million university construction project in the Milwaukee area.
In the public relations area, Mary has worked in positions in higher education, health care, energy, health insurance, politics, and the fine arts. In addition to Concordia University, she has taught at four University of Wisconsin campuses in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and Oshkosh. Her courses include public relations, fundraising, cross cultural communications, ethics, public speaking, interpersonal relations, organizational business communications, and several philosophy courses.
As a longtime consultant and political trainer for the International Republican Institute in Washington, D.C., (www.iri.org), Mary has also written two extensive training manuals for IRI’s worldwide programs for women and youth. IRI programming is supported by the U.S. Congress through its National Endowment for Democracy grant program, and by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
For IRI’s Women’s Democracy Network, (www.wdn.org), Mary designed and wrote the The Toolkit for Effective Activism. Most recently, Mary completed another version of The Toolkit for Effective Activism for IRI’s Generation Democracy youth program.
Both toolkits are designed to help women and youth in new and threatened democracies across the world engage in the political process. The two toolkits offer training in public relations, public speaking, news media relations, fundraising, advocacy, and training other trainers.
For more than 20 years, Mary has presented training classes for IRI in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America. She also served on the prestigious Women’s Democracy Network Council, Washington, D.C., from 2013 to 2016.
In the U.S., Mary has presented public relations workshops and keynote addresses at several major national public relations and fundraising conferences. She has also addressed major conferences for government and communications leaders in Turkey.
Mary has served the Public Relations Society of America as national co-chair of the group’s Corporate Social Responsibility section and as a local chapter officer.
Education:
- Master of Arts, Social and Political Philosophy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Bachelor of Arts, Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Current and former distinctions and key memberships:
- Outstanding Journalist, Wisconsin Associated Press
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Outstanding Fox Valley Alumnus
- Wisconsin Supreme Court Ethics 2000 Committee
- National professional development section leader, Public Relations Society of America
- Board chair, Fox Valley of Wisconsin Association of Fundraising Professionals
- Women’s Democracy Network Council, Washington, D.C.