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Harold Pierce
Learning & Development Specialist
Harold serves as the Learning & Development Specialist at USC Center for Health Journalism.
Before joining the Center, Harold was an award-winning journalist reporting throughout Southern California. He started his professional career at the Santa Maria Times covering the Danish tourist town of Solvang before heading to The Bakersfield Californian. While there, he covered education and health. He reported extensively for The Center for Health Journalism's "Reporting on Health Collaborative," which brought together journalists from across two states to cover Valley fever, a little-known respiratory disease. The project led to greater awareness, legislative reforms and funding for research. He is also a former fellow, reporting on life expectancies and Adverse Childhood Experiences throughout the southern San Joaquin Valley. In 2018, Harold left The Californian to become the communication manager at Adventist Health, where he served on the leadership team opening a 25-bed critical access hospital in east Kern County.
He graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in literature and studied journalism at Santa Ana College, where he worked for the award-winning el Don newspaper staff. He lives in Southern California with his rescue dog, a Queensland Heeler, named Frisbee.
Articles
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Topics
A state commission fined $641,950 to six construction firms involved in the California Flats Solar Project in Monterey County after whistleblower claimed the companies exposed workers to valley fever.
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Two significant obstacles have stood in the way of developing a meaningful Valley fever awareness campaign: money and a lack of a celebrity to champion the cause.
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Even as valley fever cases sharply increase in Central California, Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed legislation to create programs to inform the public about the little-known respiratory disease.
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Rick Parker knew he had valley fever, but his doctors wouldn’t test him.
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Stress is a powerful force. It can help us survive, but in some cases, lead to a lifetime of medical issues. A kid can only endure so many stressful traumatic experiences before it impacts his health.
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While scores of public agencies are working to develop resources and programs to address childhood trauma and toxic stress in their communities, San Joaquin County in California has been turning itself into a model for how to address the issue.
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The California legislature approved a Wednesday bill requiring the public health department to develop public outreach programs for valley fever, a respiratory disease endemic to Kern County.
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State senators will vote on a bill to enhance valley fever reporting guidelines and public outreach this week, to raise public awareness of valley fever in the southwestern United States.
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Experts in social behavior and public health focus on raising the public's valley fever awareness.
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So much of Luton’s childhood and adolescence seemed normal to her at the time. Her father mishandling her mother. Her brother coming after her with a metal poker. Her boyfriend with the meth addiction. All normal. It’s a wonder how she didn’t become a statistic herself.