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Tina D. Pierce, Ph.D., is the CEO and Founder of WORTH (Working Through Obstacles Reaching True Heights), an education consulting company based in Columbus, Ohio. Her upbringing in a working class family instilled the importance of education and hard work as a means for success in life. She excelled as a first generation college student earning a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science with a Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in College and University Teaching; a Master of Arts in Political Science; a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences with Distinction in Political Science; and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Distinction in African American and African Studies from The Ohio State University.
A recognized interdisciplinary scholar and educator Dr. Pierce facilitates learning, skill development, and community engagement with individuals and organizations. Her services in cultural competence, culturally responsive teaching, civic education, and college and career readiness elicit critical thinking, reflection, collaboration, and action. Dr. Pierce has garnered a reputation as a highly effective facilitator empowering people who desire lifelong opportunities and a voice in their community.
Prior to establishing WORTH, Dr. Pierce was the Assistant Director of the Young Scholars Program at The Ohio State University. In this role, she worked to increase the academic outcomes of talented first generation college students from economically challenged backgrounds. Her work at the college level includes teaching, advising, mentoring, and programming. As a Visiting Assistant Professor at Denison University in the Center for Black Studies, Department of Political Science, and Department of Women’s Studies her courageous spirit and passion for building bridges between universities and their surrounding communities led to new efforts to encourage mentorship, experiential and service learning through her courses. She launched a student facilitated mentoring program in Heritage and Wilson Middle Schools in Newark, Ohio; convened university-wide workshops and forums on social entrepreneurship and social justice issues; and designed courses allowing students to experience concepts and practice skills in the real world. She also served as the Director of Volunteer Resources at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church administering youth and adult volunteer management while building partnerships to promote community engagement. Dr. Pierce also impacted the lives of children, managing a federally funded mentoring grant for children of prisoners.
Passionate about community service, Dr. Pierce is a member of the Columbus City Schools Partnership Planning Committee and Kids Voting Central Ohio Advisory Board. Her past community service includes: Committee on Education Chair, NAACP Columbus Ohio Branch Unit 3177; member, site-based councils at Clinton Elementary School and Dominion Middle School; troop leader, Girl Scouts Troop 2404; co-chair, Undergraduate Research for The National Conference of Black Political Scientists; board member, Ohio Health Care Federal Credit Union; Professional Development Chair, Volunteer Administrators’ Network Board; and founding member, United Way of Central Ohio Women’s Leadership Council. She has received several honors including an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Next Generation Libraries Grant; Ohio Campus Compact Connect2Complete AmeriCorps VISTA C2C Grant; and Who’s Who in Black Columbus. A lifelong resident of Columbus, Ohio Dr. Pierce and her husband Andrew have four children Andrew II, Malcolm, Catherine, and Michelle.
