A global mom is a mom with a global perspective–an outlook that takes into account the ideas and needs of others, instead of mindlessly or recklessly going our own way.
About the Host
Mary Grace Otis is a journalist and freelance writer who has studied, worked, traveled, and lived abroad. She is the mom of three boys ages six and under, and she longs to give them the gift of a globally-minded life.
Mary Grace’s first trip overseas was as a teenager to Germany, where she traveled with her high school German class for an exchange program. After a month, she was hooked on travel, learning about other cultures, and speaking another language. Her German teacher drilled into their heads the phrase “It’s not wrong, it’s just different,” and that phrase continues to play in her head whenever she confronts something new or unusual. Longing to return to Germany in college, Mary Grace studied abroad in Heidelberg for a semester, and traveled throughout Europe as all crazy college students abroad do.
After college, she began her writing career as a copy editor for one of the largest regional magazines in the country (Southern Living), where she learned the rules of the trade and edited and wrote copy on travel, homes, recipes, and people. (She still uses the Oxford comma because of that experience!) As much as she loved the publishing world, she was still drawn to Germany and looked for a way to return. She applied for a Fulbright Journalism Fellowship, and lo and behold wound up studying at the University of Erfurt a few months later thanks to that generous grant program. While there, she wrote a column for the local paper and also completed internships with two of the country’s national publications, Der Spiegel and Die Zeit, in Hamburg.
A year later, confronting a dearth of job options in the U.S., Mary Grace traveled to India to assist with a fundraising program for a nonprofit in Bangalore. India became a first love and a second home, and she returned for two more years to work as Communications Coordinator for that organization. Wanting to learn more about international development, she returned to the states for a time to earn her master’s degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management from the SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont. She came back to India to complete her field work and write her thesis on monitoring and evaluation focusing on disability rights organizations in India.
Since returning to the U.S. in 2007, Mary Grace has written, edited, and developed publications for local and national businesses, nonprofits, and healthcare institutions. She works with a variety of clients to create high-quality publications that tell the story of the organization and its impact on the world. Mary Grace is available for speaking engagements and writing. To find out more, see the SPEAKING & WORKSHOPS PAGE.
Where to find Mary Grace:
Contact: marygrace (at) theglobalmom (dot) com
Yes! Send Me the Guide:
