Marcia Burick papers

Marcia Burick was a writer, public relations officer, administrative assistant to the Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts, and non-profit worker. She was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1940. She was a member of the Wellesley College class of 1962. Upon graduation from Wellesley, Burick was the recipient of two Mai-Ling Soong prizes, which allowed her to attend a NATO Youth Conference in the south of France. She then joined the staff of the Press and Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Mission to the U.N., under the leadership of Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson.

Burick moved to Northampton, Massachusetts in 1968 and became active in politics, writing speeches for Hubert Humphrey and doing press work for organizations such as the New York City Committee for Democratic Voters, Planned Parenthood of New York City, the Institute for International Education, The Fund for Peace, and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. She was the Press Officer for the visit of the Chinese Table Tennis Team to the United States in Spring 1972.

Burick received the Mary Elvira Stevens Traveling Fellowship from Wellesley in 1972, and she and her family traveled to China and Hong Kong. She wrote her Smith College masters thesis on Hong Kong resettlement housing. She went back to China several times over the course of her life, including arranging trips for Wellesley alumnae to tour the country. From 1980-1986, she was the admnistrative assistant to the mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts before moving on to work at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

In the 1990s, Burick worked with Operation Hunger, a hunger relief organization in South Africa. Additionally, she consulted on teaching government best practices in such places as the Baltics, Poland, Nigeria, Gaza, South Africa, and Indonesia for organizations including the Institute for Training and Developments, USAID, Abt Associates, and the Institute of Public Administration.

Burick volunteered with many local organizations in Western Massachusetts, including her synagogue, Congregation B'nai Israel, and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. She was actively involved with a number of Wellesley alumnae groups. Throughout her career, Burick wrote articles for publications such as the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Congress Monthly, Wellesley Magazine, and the New York Times. Burick passed away on June 4, 2022 after celebrating her 60th Wellesley College reunion.

Information from: "Marcia E. Burick obituary." Czelusniak Funeral Home, 2022 June 5. https://www.czelusniakfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Marcia-E.--Burick?obId=25038023