About the Director

Dr. Cherie A. Ward has been working in the fields of television, radio and film for over 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. 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.  Morevover, she is co-founder and former Executive Producer/Event Coordinator for TEDxHowardUniversity, an independently organized event. Her most recent experience as a TEDx producer was TEDxLeDroitPark in Washington, DC.  With five years as a TEDx producer specifically, she is a valuable media and production consultant for 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 completed in Fall, 2020.