Mary Sterenberg worked in health care public relations and newspaper and magazine journalism for 10 years before joining The Ohio State University. She now serves as an assistant professor of practice in the School of Communication.

She teaches Strategic Communication courses, serves on the Undergraduate Communication Curriculum Committee and Alumni Engagement Committee and co-advises the Public Relations Student Society of America chapter and its student-run public relations firm The PRactice at Ohio State. She teaches writing and public relations courses such as writing for strategic communication, strategic message design, strategic media planning and public communication campaigns. Her senior capstone Public Communication Campaigns class has worked with clients such as Victoria's Secret PINK, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Root Insurance, Pelotonia, Crimson Cup, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Ohio, YWCA, Worthington City Schools and Scotts Miracle-Gro. In 2024, she received Ohio State's Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, the university's highest award for teaching. She is also a member of the university's Academy of Teaching. 

Beyond the classroom, Mary works closely with local employers to create internship and career pipelines for Ohio State communication and PRSSA students. She helped found an annual networking trip for students to New York City, taking more than 20 PRSSA students each year to connect with alumni and tour organizations such as Edelman, IBM, VaynerMedia, Warner Music Group and Havas Media. She was named Faculty Advisor of the Year from the Public Relations Student Society of America in 2022 and received the Walt Seifert Award for Outstanding Service to PRSSA from the Central Ohio Public Relations Society of America in 2024. She also has received the Outstanding Advisor Award and the Outstanding Mentorship Award from Ohio State.

She also supports communication for the School of Communication, managing an intern, social media and web content.

Mary has freelanced for Columbus CEO and the Columbus Dispatch and authored the open source textbook Write Like a PR Pro. She edited several books for Hyden Consulting and provided freelance editing support to clients such as AEP. She conducts trainings and speaks professionally on communication topics such as AP style, grammar, executive writing, persuasive communication, internship management, family communication and work-life balance. She co-founded SALT effect in 2018 to provide resources to help working moms of tweens and teens grow stronger and happier families through strong communication.  

Mary is actively involved with PRSA, serving as a director at large and chair of the Programs Committee for the PRSA chapter of Central Ohio.

Mary came to Ohio State in 2011 after serving as communications manager for the Ohio Hospital Association. During her time at OHA, she managed a daily email newsletter sent to thousands of hospital leaders, media and legislators, contributed to several statewide advocacy campaigns and launched the association’s social media presence on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Prior to her work at OHA, Mary worked in print news media.

Mary earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio Northern University and her master’s degree in journalism from Ohio University. Email her at sterenberg.2@osu.edu or connect with her on LinkedIn.