Author/Writer/Leader

Creative, Compelling Communication and Leadership

• Brief bio

Detailed bio:

• Executive Director, American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation
• Communication Professional
• Board Service and Leadership
• President, Speaking of Sports
• Author
• Professional Speaker
• Columnist
• Media Resource
• Journalist
• Speaking Coach:Speaking Success For Athletes
• Former Stanford University and Professional Athlete
• Founder Frances Willard Society
• Background and Education
• Honors and Awards

  Executive Director, American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation

  In May 2006, Mariah joined the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation, part of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, as their executive director.

  Communication Professional

  In 2005, Mariah served as Chief Speechwriter and Acting Director of AARP's speechwriters, op-ed writers, letter-writers, and bloggers. In this role, she:

  Managed a team of executive writers (speeches, op-eds, talking points, handouts, letters, blogs) plus freelancers. Assigned and supervised projects; monitored budget; offered discipline, organization, and clear expectations to staff.

  Wrote for AARP's COO and other executives.

  Wrote articles for AARP executives that were published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today. Provided editorial support to Board of Directors, National Officers, and Executive Team.

  Collaborated with Media, Public Outreach, Branding, Board Support, Knowledge Management, State Communications to provide consistency in message and tone.
  

  Board Service and Leadership

  Plans, implements communications strategies. Creates effective slogans, messages.

  Charter member, AARP Foundation's Women's Leadership Circle (2005+)

  Board member, Mosaic Harmony Gospel Choir (2005+)

  Advisory Board Member, Washington Business Journal

  Advisory Board, National Women's History Museum (2000-2004)

  President, National Speakers Association/Washington, D.C. Area (President 2001-02; 4-year board term)

  Board member, Washington Independent Writers (1990-92)
  

  President, Speaking of Sports

  Wrote 5 books for major publishers (Random House, Harcourt Brace, Morrow, Harper.)

  Wrote hundreds of articles: The New York Times, Newsweek, Shape, Self. Wrote columns: The Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, Knight-Ridder/Tribune, Women's Sports and Fitness, Oxygen.com.

  Wrote and delivered sports, fitness, and health-related keynote speeches for hundreds of corporate, association, college audiences.

  Planned and implemented media campaign that led to appearances on hundreds of TV shows (Today, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Dateline, Donahue, Crossfire) and radio shows (NPR, ESPN.) Generated coverage in hundreds of major publications.

  Author

  Mariah Burton Nelson’s books include:

  WE ARE ALL ATHLETES: Bringing Courage, Confidence, and Peak Performance into Our Everyday Lives (Dare Press 2002; 2004)

  THE UNBURDENED HEART: Five Keys to Forgiveness and Freedom (Harper San Francisco 2000; Le Jour, Editeur, 2001)

  EMBRACING VICTORY: Life Lessons in Competition and Compassion (William Morrow 1998; Avon Paperbacks 1999)

  THE STRONGER WOMEN GET, THE MORE MEN LOVE FOOTBALL: Sexism and the American Culture of Sports (Harcourt Brace 1994; Avon Paperbacks 1995)

  ARE WE WINNING YET? How Women Are Changing Sports and Sports Are Changing Women (Random House 1991).

  Nelson has contributed chapters or introductions to more than three dozen other books, including:

  • Representative American Speeches (The Reference Shelf, 2006): Mariah's speech ("Redefining Aging,") delivered to AARP's National Leadership Conference, was published in this collection, along with speeches by Barack Obama, Robert Reich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, and George W. Bush.
  • Sports and Inequality, edited by Michael J. Cozzillio and Robert L. Hayman, Jr. (Carolina Academic Press 2006). Includes Mariah's "Paid to Play" chapter.
  • Shattering the Glass: The Dazzling History of Women's Basketball from the Turn of the Century to the Present, by Susan Shackelford and Pamela Grundy (2005) Includes Mariah's basketball stories
  • The Girls’ Guide to Life, by Catherine Dee (Little, Brown 1997; 2005) Includes article by Mariah.
  • GirlWise: How to Be Capable, Cool, and In Control, by Julia DeVillers, 2002
  • Nike is a Goddess: The History of Women in Sports, edited by Lissa Smith (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998) Intro by Mariah
  • Whatever It Takes: Women on Women's Sport, edited by Joli Sandoz and Joby Winans (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, NY, 1999) Includes chapter by Mariah
  • Crossing Boundaries: An International Anthology of Women's Experiences in Sport, edited by Susan Bandy and Anne Darden (Human Kinetics, IL, 1999)
  • Sexual Harassment in Sport: Impact, Issues, and Challenges, by Karin A.E. Volkwein-Caplain and Gopal Sankaran (Meyer & Meyer Sport, 2001) Intro by Mariah
  • Letters of Intent: Women Cross the Generations to Talk About Family, Work, Sex, Love and the Future of Feminism, edited by Anna Bondoc and Meg Daly (Free Press, NY, 1999)
  • Play Like a Girl: A Celebration of Women in Sports, edited by Sue Macy and Jane Gottesman (Henry Holt, 1999)
  • Encyclopedia of Women and Sport in America, edited by Carole A. Oglesby et. al (Oryx Press 1998) Intro by Mariah
  • A Whole Other Ball Game, edited by Joli Sandoz (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997) Includes poem by Mariah.
  • A Kind of Grace: A Treasury of Sportswriting by Women, edited by Ron Rapoport (Zenobia Press, 1994) Includes chapter by Mariah
  • Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend: Women Writers on Baseball, edited by Elinor Nauen (Faber and Faber, Boston), 1994 Includes chapter by Mariah
  • Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers, edited by Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon (Bedford/ St. Martin's 2006)...
  • ...and several dozen other college textbook on writing
  • Mariah's work is referenced in more than 200 books.

  Professional Speaker

  MARIAH has spoken professionally since 1987: to associations, corporations, colleges, government agencies, and sports groups. Clients include AARP, Accenture, American Association of University Women, American Organization of Nurse Executives, Bell Atlantic, Brim Healthcare, Fairview Health Systems, General Services Administration, IBM, Iowa Paint, Girl Scouts, Merrill Lynch, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Organization for Women, Navy Occupational Safety and Health, Nike, Physicians Mutual Insurance Company, Public Building Service, TRW, US Census Bureau, US Department of Justice, USA Today, Women in Technology, Young Presidents Organization, and hundreds of other organizations. She also speaks on university and college campuses: Brown, Colgate, Duke, Mount Holyoke, Nebraska, Oberlin, Ohio, Radcliffe, Rutgers, Smith, and hundreds more.

  She is Past-President of the National Speakers Association/Washington, D.C. Area.

  Columnist

  MARIAH is a former columnist for:

  * Oxygen Media
  * The Washington Post
  * Knight-Ridder/Tribune (the first nationally syndicated women's sports column)
  * Women's Sports and Fitness

  Journalist

  MARIAH has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Newsday, Working Woman, Ms., Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Shape, Self, USA Today, and hundreds of other publications.

  Media Resource

  MARIAH has appeared on Today, Good Morning America, PrimeTime Live, Dateline, Nightline, Donahue, Larry King Live, Crossfire, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, Geraldo Rivera (five times!), National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show, Terry Gross Show, and hundreds of other television and radio shows. Her books have been reviewed in, and/or she has been quoted in, the Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Mademoiselle, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, New York Times, Parade, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sales and Marketing Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, Seattle Times, Self, Shape, Village Voice, Washington Business Journal, Washington Post, and hundreds of other papers and magazines.

  Speaking Coach: Speaking Success For Athletes

  MARIAH is the co-founder and co-owner (with Arnold Sanow, MBA, CSP) of a consulting business called SPEAKING SUCCESS FOR ATHLETES: individualized coaching for athletes who want to achieve as much success on the podium as they have on the playing fields. Also available to other professional and aspiring speakers.

  Former Stanford University and Professional Athlete

  Mariah played basketball at Stanford (‘78), where she was the leading scorer all four years, averaging 19 points per game in her senior season; one rebounding record (most in a single game: 20) remained unbroken for 24 years. She also played professionally in France and in the first women’s pro league in the United States (WBL). She now swims two miles each morning, lifts weights, rides a bike, and plays golf. She also coaches her mother, Sarah, who holds three Arizona State records for women aged 75 to 79.

  Frances Willard Society

  Mariah founded the Frances Willard Society, an online community designed to foster teamwork and professional development among people who write about women’s sports, in December 1998. The list now has more than 130 writers. To sign up: Send an email to FWS-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

  Background & Education

  Born in April 1956, Mariah was raised Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, then moved to Arizona with her family when she was 16. She graduated from Arcadia High School in Phoenix, received a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University in 1978, and received a masters in public health from San Jose State University in 1983.

  Her father is a retired hospital president; her mother is a retired psychiatrist; her sister is a trial lawyer; and her brother is an entertainment lawyer. Mariah lives in the Washington, D.C. area, with her life partner and their dog, Rocky.

  She also sings tenor in Mosaic Harmony, a community choir that draws on African-American spiritual music to "unify the world, one song at a time."

  Honors and Awards

  Mariah has won numerous awards for her writing and speaking, including:

  100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America: (2007) Mariah Burton Nelson was given this honor by the International Institute for Sport. Other awardees: Tiger Woods, Bud Greenspan, Phil Jackson, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, Billie Jean King, Mike Krzyzewski, Robert Lipsyte, Donna Lopiano, Cal Ripken, Jr., Bill Russell, Dawn Staley, Vivian Stringer, Pat Summitt, John Wooden, and others. See full list here.

  Short Fiction Prize, Northern Virginia Review (2006)

  Pollin Award for Outstanding Dedication to the Community (2004)

  Capital Outstanding Speaker Award, National Speakers Association/Washington, D.C. Area (2003)

  Highest Woman of Distinction Award, Greater Washington Women's Network, (2002)

  Communications and Leadership Award 2002, District 27 Toastmasters

  National Association of Girls and Women in Sport’s Guiding Woman in Sport Award (1996)

  Induction into the National Women in Sports Hall of Fame (1996)

  Run, Jane, Run Nancy Rehm Memorial Award (1996)

  Arlington (VA) County's Distinguished Woman Award (1994)

  Women’s Sports Foundation’s Magazine Journalism Award (1988)

  Amateur Athletic Foundation’s Book Award (1992)

  Mariah's book, The Unburdened Heart, was nominated for the Christopher Award, given to artists whose work "lights a candle rather than cursing the darkness." Previous award winners include Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Bob Hope. The winner was Lance Armstrong, for "It's Not About the Bike."

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  To contact Mariah, call 703/276-8323 or write to her at Mariah@MariahBurtonNelson.com

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