Erin Block Ward

Writer Producer & Creative Director Marketing & Creative

What I Do

Create something that matters. 

I am an Emmy-nominated and Telly-award winning writer, producer, and creative director. With more than 10 years of experience in mission-based content, I have worked on a variety of projects across multiple genres and formats. From television shows and travel writing to social media content and national marketing campaigns - I use my passion for crafting stories to inspire audiences on every platform.

See samples of my favorite work below. 

Marketing Campaigns & Promotion PBS

Featured Creative Campaigns

A Fresh, Feminist Take on Marie Antoinette | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/3Xh28El | #MarieAntoinettePBS

The "Marie Antoinette" cast and crew discuss the drama's new take on the young queen, her relationship with Louis XVI, and the forces working against her when she arrived in Versailles. Marie Antoinette premieres Sunday, March 19 at 10/9c.

This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate

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#MarieAntoinette #PBS

More about the series:
Marie Antoinette (Emilia Schüle, “Berlin Dance School”) is just a teenager when she leaves Austria to marry the dauphin of France (Louis Cunningham, “Bridgerton”). With pressure to continue the Bourbon line and secure the Franco-Austrian alliance, she must follow the complex rules of the French court while attempting to charm her reluctant king-to-be, Louis XVI. Transforming into the Queen of Style and a true fashion icon, Marie Antoinette tries to recreate Versailles in her image: free, independent, and feminist. But defamatory pamphlets and persistent rumors about her private life undermine her status, and her opponents within the Royal Family will do everything they can to bring her down.

The Trick | Official Trailer | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/3KeBCpp
A cautionary tale of the 2009 Climategate scandal, when media undermined the science of climate change.

This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate

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#thetrick #climate #PBS

More About the Production:
Professor Phil Jones and his team at the University of East Anglia find themselves in the middle of a major investigation with their 30 years of research work being questioned in the first ‘fake news’ attack.

Starring:
Jason Watkins (Line of Duty, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) Victoria Hamilton (Doctor Foster, Life) with an ensemble cast including George MacKay (1917, Pride), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones, Ripper Street), Adrian Edmondson (The Pact, Save Me), Aneirin Hughes (Hinterland, Keeping Faith), Pooky Quesnel (The A Word, The Victim), Richard Elfyn (The Pact), Rhashan Stone (Keeping Faith, Finding Alice), Justin Salinger (Hanna), Tara Divina (Line of Duty) and David Calder (Time, The Hatton Garden Job).

FORCES OF NATURE | Official Trailer | PBS

Learn how we experience the consequences of natural forces that keep Earth on the move. Premieres Wednesdays, September 14-October 5 at 8/7c. Learn more: pbs.org | #ForcesOfNature

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The forces of nature have kept Earth on the move since it was formed billions of years ago. Though we can’t feel the motion, we experience the consequences – from tidal bores surging through the Amazon rainforest to the ruinous power of hurricanes.

NOVA Universe Revealed | Official Preview | PBS

Official website: https://to.pbs.org/3m6x7n7 | #NOVAPBS
In this five-part series, NOVA delves into the vastness of space to capture moments of high drama when the universe changed forever. State-of-the-art animation gives us astonishing, photorealistic glimpses of the birth of a star in a stellar nursery, the chaos created as two galaxies collide, and the power of a supermassive black hole as it flings a star across space so violently that it’s still traveling 10 million years later.

NOVA even takes viewers back on the ultimate time travel voyage, to witness the birth of space and time itself. Informed by huge advances in scientific understanding, the series brings us face-to-face with the most surprising characters in the cosmos and reveals how their fates are intertwined with our own. Take a ringside seat for the greatest show in the universe.

This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate

Stream all five episodes now for a limited time at NOVA's official website:
or on the PBS Video App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR

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Enjoy full episodes of your favorite PBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS Video App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR

FOLLOW NOVA
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2021 PBS Short Film Festival | Jury Prize Winner | PBS

The votes are in! Congrats to our 2021 Jury Prize winner: Ms Diva Trucker! All 25 films are available to stream at pbs.org/filmfest, on Facebook, YouTube and on the PBS Video app. #PBSFilmFest

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FOLLOW PBS SHORT FILM FESTIVAL:
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Icon: Music Through the Lens | Official Extended Trailer | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/3ldLi9L| #IconPBS
Revel in the eye-opening, thrilling world of live music photography through the experiences of the men and women who have documented popular music in images, from the earliest darkrooms to the fast-evolving digital landscapes of the present day. Tune in or stream Fridays July 16 - August 6, 2021 at 9/8c on PBS.

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The Age of Nature | Official Extended Preview | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/2Z3QOjx | #AgeOfNaturePBS
Explore humanity’s relationship with nature and wildlife, as scientists and conservationists from all over the world examine ways we can restore our planet. This documentary series asks whether newfound awareness of nature could bring about a new chapter in the human story. Tune in or stream Wednesdays, October 14-28, 2020 at 10/9c.

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Europe's New Wild | Official Preview | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/3p1cF6f
Explore the resurgence of iconic wildlife and natural processes across Europe's most breathtaking landscapes, from the Arctic Circle to rich river wetlands, from deep forests to rugged mountain peaks. Tune in or stream "Europe's New Wild" Wednesdays, February 3-24, 2021 at 10/9c.

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The Black Church | The Role of Music | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/2MFmZSR | #BlackChurchPBS​
What is the relationship between singing and preaching, and what is the role of music in the Black church? Pastor Shirley Caesar and Professor Fredara Hadley of Julliard talk about the evolution of Black music from folk spirituals and hymns to jazz, blues, and gospel music.

Watch The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song on the PBS Video App and YouTube through April 4: https://to.pbs.org/3ahh8MU

Episode 1: https://youtu.be/BijAOYktT4k
Episode 2: https://youtu.be/AnT3cTNU-ZI

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FOLLOW HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.
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#PBS​ #TheBlackChurch #BlackChurch​ #BlackHistory​​ #HenryLouisGates #civilrights #nonviolence #CivilRightsMovement #gospel #gospelmusic #equality #ethnomusicology

How Realistic is Call the Midwife? | PBS

"It's just like that!" Real midwives Andrea Altomaro, Michelle Collins, Katie Moriarty, and Deborah McBain talk about what Call the Midwife gets right about birth and midwives.

Season 10 of Call the Midwife takes place in 1966, a testing time for the midwives. But there’s excitement, too, as the women's rights movement intensifies. Interesting challenges lie ahead for Nonnatus House, as well as great celebrations when England wins the World Cup. Full episodes streaming Oct. 3 at 8/7c, or watch early with PBS Passport!

Official website: https://to.pbs.org/33DqFt1 | #MidwifePBS

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This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate

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Enjoy full episodes of your favorite PBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS Video App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR

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About the Show
Call the Midwife follows the nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House, who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care. Stream full episodes, go behind the scenes & more at https://to.pbs.org/33DqFt1

Starring: Helen George as Nurse Trixie, Leonie Elliott as Nurse Lucille, Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne, Fenella Woolgar as Sister Hilda, Ella Bruccoleri as Sister Frances, Zephryn Taitte as Cyril, Cliff Parisi as Fred, Annabelle Apsion as Violet, Stephen McGann as Dr. Turner, Laura Main as Nurse Shelagh, Megan Cusack as Nancy Corrigan, Linda Bassett as Nurse Crane, and Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan. Meet all the characters that bring Call the Midwife to life at https://to.pbs.org/33DqFt1

#callthemidwife #PBS

Before We Die | Official Preview | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/33r8P0c
Determined to solve her lover Sean’s murder, Detective Inspector Hannah Laing persuades one of his confidential informants to help her. Adapted from the hit Swedish series of the same name, this breathless crime thriller full of heart-stopping jeopardy and unpredictable twists stars Lesley Sharp as DI Hannah Laing, Patrick Gibson as her son Christian, Vince Regan as Billy and Tony Gojanovic, as Davor, the boss of the Mimica crime family. Premieres Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 10/9c.

This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate

Subscribe to the PBS channel for more clips: https://www.youtube.com/PBS/

Enjoy full episodes of your favorite PBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS Video App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR

FOLLOW US:

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Exhumed: A History of Zombies | Official Preview | PBS

Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/36YA6XG | #MonstrumPBS

In this new one-hour Halloween PBS special, Dr. Emily Zarka will deconstruct some of the most significant moments in zombie popular culture over the last two centuries to reveal what these creatures say about us.

Subscribe to the PBS channel for more clips: https://www.youtube.com/PBS/

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Production National Geographic Studios

Featured Works

The Greeks

Explore Greek history with archaeologists and historians, actors and athletes, scientists and artists who are launching groundbreaking new explorations of the Greeks’ journey across time. The Greek story is our story.


Credits: Writer, Associate Producer

Rise of the Black Pharaohs

Around 800 BC, Kush, a little-known subject state of Egypt, rose up and conquered the Egyptians, enthroned its own Pharaohs, and ruled over the empire of King Tut for nearly 100 years.

Credits: Post-Producer, Writer, Associate Producer

NOVA: Creatures of Light

Deep in the ocean, animals that flash, sparkle, and glow use light to survive in the dark.

Credits: Associate Producer

NOVA Bigger Than T.Rex

Meet Spinosaurus—the lost killer of the Cretaceous and the world's largest carnivorous dinosaur ever.

Credits: Associate Producer, Post Producer

The Big Picture with Kal Penn

The Big Picture with Kal Penn is a series from National Geographic Studios that uses data and mapping to make powerful connections and visualize our world in amazing new ways. Hosted by Kal Penn, each episode will uncover surprising facts on a topic (like technology, money, food, crime or sports) and generate maps and other visuals to help us understand "the big picture." The series reveals how our world works, how we got here, and even where we're headed - while exploring powerful stories from the real people and communities behind the data.

Credits: Writer, Associate Producer

Writing

Featured Published Works

A smokejumper’s first leap of faith

Grant Davis watched as members of his crew leapt out of the hovering Shorts Sherpa C23-A plane. He couldn’t see smoke coming from the trees or the streamers that marked his destination 1,500ft below. This wasn’t just his first jump into Olympic National Park; this was his first jump ever.

“Get ready!” the jumpers’ mission spotter yelled to Luke Jackson, Davis’s jump partner, who without hesitation fell with ease into the wind. Davis edged his feet toward the opening of the plane door, and then

A desert of smugglers and skeletons

Border patrol agent Ryan Hajek was walking in the open Texas desert, trying to stay as quiet as possible. It was dark except for the full moon that hung above him. He was looking for something specific – a water bottle, some clothes left behind, anything that showed evidence of human life.

Tracking people and conducting lay-in operations – which require officers to hide in the desert brush and wait for drug smugglers or groups of illegal immigrants to appear – isn’t an easy gig. But Hajek, an a

You’re either an explorer, or you’re not. Which one are you?

Find out why you might be sitting in your office chair, instead of making your first attempt at the South Pole.

Antarctica is unbearable in July. It is so treacherous that in 1911, explorers Apsley Cherry-Garrard, Bill Wilson and Henry Bowers returned to base camp with shattered teeth and fingernails that hung by invisible threads. Reports of their journey told of clothing that was forcibly cut from their bodies, as the line between fabric and skin melted many miles before. The three men travel

Just Back: Jackson Hole

Nat Geo staffer Erin Block just returned from a winter adventure in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “As a rule, I am a warm-weather person,” she says. “But one day I decided it was high time I stepped far out of my comfort zone.” That’s how she decided to try her hand at skiing for the first time—on some of the biggest and steepest slopes in the United States. The last word? “There was no better place to bundle up and leave the warm behind.”

Memorable moment: As a first-time skier, getting off the Teewi

The Best of Playa del Carmen

If you associate travel with faraway lands and exotic cultures, it can be easy to overlook your neighbors when planning your next big trip. So when my family was planning our last vacation, Playa del Carmen, Mexico, seemed like a good place to start. Turns out you don’t have to be halfway across the globe to feel far away.

Cancun may get more attention, especially during Spring Break season, but its sister city to the south is the real gem of the Riviera Maya.

Here are my recommendations for m

How to Survive a Long Flight

There’s no question about it: traveling opens our eyes and minds to new cultures, landscapes, and people. That being said, getting there isn’t always fun.

Most people don’t exactly look forward to long flights, but they don’t have to inspire dread, either.

If you’re like me and can’t afford to upgrade to business or first class, here are a few tips to keep you going while you’re stuck in coach.

Airlines that aren’t based in the United States tend to offer better amenities on long flights — li

A Market For All Seasons in Thailand

Thailand is a pleasure for the senses. Tourists come from around the world to visit the nation’s gold-adorned temples and sample its delicious cuisine. Each new attraction is better than the last.

Though there are many ways to see Thailand, touring markets is one of the best ways to experience the cultural intersections that make this southeast Asian gem so unique. And that intersection is on fabulous display in Thailand’s capital city.

Here are four markets in and around Bangkok that give vis

Road Trip: Northwest Montana

A road trip is one of the most American travel concepts there is. Leaving home to explore a new world, while zigzagging through dusty roads and urban centers is only one of the thrills. The beauty of a road trip is that while you normally have a destination in mind, the journey is usually the best part. How you get there is all up to you and what stops you make can be decided on the seat of your pants. No need to make a plan if you don’t want to. You can’t make detours or put your hands out the

Here's How The North Pole Became A Part Of Santa's Story

We’ve all heard the stories. Kids all around the world send letters addressed to Santa at the North Pole to ask for presents in exchange for good behavior.

The letters couldn’t just go to Santa — they had to be mailed to the North Pole: Santa’s headquarters. Filled with Arctic chill, hardworking elves, red-nosed reindeer and Santa’s workshop, the North Pole is a magical place.

But how did the myth of the North Pole come to be? How did Santa’s ground zero become the North Pole?

Saint Nick didn