About | Fertile Ground Communications

"Marie communicates clear, tailored messages that cultivate individual understanding of big issues with compassionate empathy. Her ability to understand and connect with her audience is unparalleled.

-Brandy Wilson, Sustainability Director, Simplot

Time to adopt a new word for "Stakeholders"

It's time to find a new word for "stakeholders," which causes generational trauma and harm to Indigenous peoples.

Women who inspired me to ask for what i deserve

It's #internationalwomensday2022. Where to start? I chose to write about women who helped me ask for what I deserve.

On grief and representation: Three ways to be more inclusive

I'm grateful for my resilience. But I also carry grief about not seeing other people with cleft lips and palates as a child. Representation!

Happy birthday Oregon? Our state's problematic history

Oregon was formed as a racist utopia. I don't feel right celebrating its "birthday." And our problems continue.

White people, stay in your own lane

Any workplace that doesn't create a safe space for Black people is not engendering a feeling of belonging.

Your acronyms are excluding people

Sometimes acronyms can be useful. Most of the time, they should be ditched. Learn why.

Word of the Year

Choosing a word to guide me is more powerful than New Year’s resolutions. The word guides my decision making and priority setting.

Eliminate sexism from your communications (why I love and hate Christmas carols)

Each holiday season, I'm reminded of how far we have to go to root out sexism in our language. Here are 8 tips on how to do that.

Elon Musk masters one communications principle

As the world watches Elon Musk destroy Twitter, I realize he has mastered one principle of communications (while failing at others!).

Protect Your Health and the Planet: Eat Less Meat

Eating less meat not only improves your health, but it can also protect our precious planet.

It’s Not About You:Writing Winning Proposals, Lesson 1

Lesson 1 of writing winning proposals: it's not about you! Talk about your client instead of yourself.

Six ways to lay people off humanely

I've been on both sides of layoffs. Here are six ways to do layoffs a little more humanely and preserve your employees' dignity.

Don't be a racist on Halloween: A primer on cultural appropriation for white people

People often goof up on Halloween by dressing in culturally inappropriate costumes. Don't fall into this trap! Here's how to prevent it.

Just Say No to Demoralizing Leaders!

85% of employees feel afraid to raise concerns with their bosses. Demoralizing treatment is never a good thing! Tips on how to fix this.

Eight Ways to Support Indigenous People, Part 2: Recruit, Retain, and Engage Native Employees

Indigenous employees feel the lowest levels of belonging in the workplace. This statistic is sobering. Here are 8 tips to change it.

Eight Ways to Support Indigenous People, Part 1

On Indigenous People's Day, learn how to support Native Americans, First Nations, or other Indigenous people with these eight suggestions.

Don’t Say “Happy Yom Kippur” and How to Create an Inclusive Calendar

Don't say "happy Yom Kippur"! Learn how to be more inclusive to all religions in your organization by focusing on your calendar.

The Try Guys Try Out Inclusive Leadership during a Crisis

Bravo to the Try Guys for being inclusive leaders. They are walking their talk and living out their values by making a difficult decision!

The Weapons of White Women's Tears

Yesterday Amy Cooper lost her case against her employer. White women have used our tears as a weapon for hundreds of years.

Cut out excess words

The more words, the harder for readers to understand. Most people read 25% of your content. Get the information to them quickly!

The Complexity of Queen Elizabeth

As leaders, we need to be inclusive communicators in discussing the queen’s death.

Get Your Reader's attention immediately

The best way to catch your readers’ attention is to put your key point first. Learn why this is so important!

On Juneteenth, don't succumb to BLMwashing

White-dominated companies have no right to profit off Black people's blood, sweat, and tears by marketing Juneteenth.

When we know better, we can do better

I passionately believe in inclusive language. So I was caught out when someone told me Asian American should not be hyphenated.

Just don't do it!

Communication tip for leaders: never, ever insult or humiliate your employees or throw them under the bus...in person, or on email.

Building connections with remote workers

Communication and leadership tips for supervising people virtually, to boost employee engagement and bolster your leadership skills.

How George Floyd and Breonna Taylor Changed My Life

One year ago, I wrote about white women's tears after Amy Cooper called the cops on Christian Cooper the same day George Floyd was murdered.

How to Ruin Employee Engagement and Become a Company that Doesn’t Care

Basecamp's new policies clearly define it as a company that doesn't care. I outline what's wrong with their new policies.

Company Awards

World Environment Center Gold Medal Award for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development

American Consulting Engineers Council Oregon, Washington, and national awards

Environmental Business Journal/Climate Change Business Journal awards

American Public Works Association awards

APEX (communications) awards

Awards for Colleagues

Corporate Eco Forum Amazon Leadership Program (wrote applications)

Daily Journal of Commerce Women of Vision Awards

Daily Journal of Commerce Phenoms Under 40 Awards

CH2M HILL CEO Excellence Awards

Awards I've Won

Two APEX Grand Awards

Three Awards for Publications Excellence

International Association of Business Communications (IABC) Bronze Beacon Awards of Excellence

IABC Bronze Beacon Awards of Merit

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

“At a time when rapid and crisis communications were critical, Marie jumped right in and immediately embraced the support we needed for our communications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Marie quickly understood the daily operations and tight deadlines our team needed. She understands the big picture. Her writing, business sense, responsiveness, positivity, and professionalism are outstanding. I trusted her to provide us the support we needed every step of the way. I highly recommend Marie. She is amazing. I will work with her any chance I can in the future.”

— Dee Hidalgo, former senior communications specialist at Clackamas County