Ponchitta Pierce

Ponchitta Pierce was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Alfred Leonard and Nora (Vincent) Pierce. Her father was a plasterer and contractor and her mother was a school teacher. Both of her parents were native Louisianians. Most of her early childhood was spent in New Orleans, where she was educated through elementary school. She moved with her family to Los Angeles, where she lived in the solidly middle class neighborhoods of Jefferson Park and Mid-City. She graduated from the all-female Bishop Conaty Memorial High School (now Bishop Conaty - Our Lady of Loretto High School). While at Conaty, Pierce developed a passion for books and writing. She subsequently attended the University of Southern California (USC), where she wrote for the school paper, the Daily Trojan. She spent one summer at Cambridge University in England, before graduating from USC with a B.A. degree cum laude in Journalism. Shortly after graduation, she landed a position at Ebony Magazine, where she quickly rose to the position of New York Editor and New York Bureau Chief for Ebony's parent company, Johnson Publications. While in New York, Ms. Pierce worked as a reporter for the pioneering magazine program, "Black Journal" at WNET, the local public television affiliate. She's also worked as a special correspondent for CBS News. A highlight of her broadcast career was a producer and host of "Today in New York," for WNBC. Pierce continues to work in print, having written for a variety of publications including McCall's, Parade, Newsweek, and Ladies Home Journal. She's also contributed to several non-fiction books, specializing in oral histories and eyewitness accounts of important moments in U.S. history. This includes several interviews that she conducted which appear in "My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience (AARP/Sterling Publishing), a book which chronicles the contributions of key figures in the Civil Rights Movement. Ms. Pierce's most recent book is "Keep Going No Matter What: The Reginald F. Lewis Legacy: 20 Years Later," which features interviews by prominent business leaders who were inspired by Lewis and his business achievements. Long committed to community service, Ms. Pierce is a member of several organizations striving to have a positive impact on the world. She serves on the board of directors of WNET; the Inner-City Scholarship Fund of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York; Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (Help USA); the Foreign Policy Association; and the Cuban Artists Fund. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.