Many of you know the Astronomy Foundation, the telescope industry association that is promoting the hobby of astronomy through outreach events. The foundation will hold its annual meeting at this year’s Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) in New York in late April, and will be hosting a number of large star party events this year.

I’m delighted to announce a new addition to the team, Marsie Hall Newbold, as director of publicity for the group. Marsie is a public relations professional who has been in private practice for the past 18 years. Her clientele has included medical practices, nonprofits, authors, retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, and many others.

She chose the Cincinnati Observatory as her pro-bono account, and over a period of three years was able to garner local, regional, national, and international press for “The Birthplace of American Astronomy” and also served on the board of trustees. Her many creative ideas led to many ongoing successes for the institution that continue today.

A freelance journalist, Marsie has written columns and features for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati magazine. She has also penned many local and national radio and television scripts. Her clients have benefited from her writing skills in the form of creative copy for brochures, websites, social network “ghostwriting,” newsletters, and in-house publications. She recently concluded three terms as public relations chair for the Cincinnati chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Marsie’s love of astronomy began when her father gifted her with her first telescope for Christmas at the age of 5. “I was not allowed to touch it unless he was with me,” she said. “So, I got the idea that astronomy was something very important from an early age. That’s why outreach is such a passion with me.”

Currently, Marsie is lending her talents to the Drake Planetarium and Science Center in Norwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati).

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Marsie lives in Highland Heights, Kentucky, with her husband, Thomas M. Newbold, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, and their basset hound, Nosey.

A local pet care expert and advocate, Marsie writes a column that is syndicated throughout the Community Press newspapers and hosts a website called Marsie’s Menagerie. She is also a volunteer reader for the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired’s Radio Reading Services and a member of the board of trustees of Media Heritage, a group dedicated to preserving, restoring, and presenting the history of radio, television, film, and print, especially that of the Greater Cincinnati area.

Marsie is thrilled to be associated with the Astronomy Foundation and is looking forward to a long, successful relationship!