President's Message - Minority Enterprise Executive Council

Zina C. Pierre
President & CEO
Washington Linkage Group, Inc.
Zina C. Pierre is founding President and CEO of the Washington Linkage Group, Inc. (WLG) located in Washington, DC.
WLG is a government relations and strategic consulting firm specializing in lobbying, public relations, corporate affairs and
international trade.
Pierre’s partial client list includes: Cities of Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Oakland, California; Prince George’s
County, Maryland; AT&T, General Motors, Holiday Inn, Democratic National Committee, National Conference of Democratic Mayors,
Dewey Square Group, The Haney Group LLC, National Conference of Black Mayors, Center for Policy Alternatives, National Black
Caucus of State Legislators and Bishop David G. Evans Ministries.
A noted speaker and advocate on women’s issues, public policy and politics for more than 20 years, Pierre has an extensive background
in government relations at the federal, state and local levels of government. She served eight years in the Clinton Administration with
her last commissioned officer position as Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs. In that role, - the Honorable
Pierre served as President Bill Clinton’s liaison to the nation’s mayors and county officials in the Executive Office of the President. As
a former aide to President Clinton, Pierre’s policy portfolio included: New Markets and Digital Divide, Welfare Reform, Healthcare,
International Trade, Census 2000, Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community initiatives, highway/transportation (TEA-21),
environmental safety, urban parks and recreation and the lower Mississippi Delta Initiative. In addition, she served on the Presidential
appointed council of advisors for the restoration of Princeville, North Carolina – the oldest black owned town in the U.S.
Prior to her position in the White House, Pierre worked successfully to help create public-private partnerships with local government
and the business community to hire more than 200,000 former welfare recipients while serving as director of the President’s Welfare
to Work Initiative for the U.S. Small Business Administration. During her tenure, Pierre authored a book on welfare reform. Before
SBA, she held the position of director of communications for the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau.
Previous to her eight years in government, Pierre worked for more than ten years in the television broadcast industry as a writer, field
producer, and production assistant with networks such as USA Today Television Show, Fox Channel 5 News, America’s Most Wanted,
Sports News Network and News Channel 8.
Ms.Pierre has also conducted communications and advocacy training for the: DNC, ACLU, SEIU, NAACP, National Urban League,
Children’s Defense Fund, Catholic Charities, New Jersey and Maryland Democratic parties, State Legislators across the nation, the
Center for Policy Alternatives and the National Conference of Black Mayors.
Ms. Pierre has been sited in numerous print media’s such as Essence Magazine article as one of the countries most “Powerhouse,
Political Black Women”, Black Enterprise Magazine, Marie Claire, Sister to Sister, JET, Influence Magazine, The Washington Post, The
New York Post, National Public Radio, Precious Times Magazine, and Christian Science Monitor. She has been inducted into the Black
History Makers Hall of Fame, “Who’s Who in the World,” “Who’s Who in Business,” and the Council for Excellence in Government.
Ms.Pierre was the first woman licensed to preach in the 115 year history of her childhood church, the First Baptist Church of Annapolis
where she served for eight years as assistant to the Pastor and youth minister. She is a graduate of Catholic University with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Communication and is presently pursuing her Masters degree in Social Work.