Marie Murphy Duess is the author of two non-fiction history books, Colonial Inns and Taverns of Bucks County and The Delaware Canal, From Stone Coal Highway to Historic Landmark (The History Press). She has also written and published two historical novels.

Marie is the Executive Vice President of Duess Consulting Services, LLC, which was founded by her husband Ed in 2005, and has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, communications and public relations, primarily in the non-profit sector. As a consultant, Marie acted as the Director of Marketing for the Comprehensive Breast Care and Aesthetics Institutes in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, developed by Diversified Specialty Institutes of Tennessee. Before joining Duess Consulting Services, she handled promotion, advertising, public relations, publicity and press relations for St. Mary Medical Center during a period when this Catholic Health East healthcare provider was twice named one of the “Top 100” community hospitals in America by Solucient, a leading provider of healthcare information.

While at St. Mary Medical Center, Marie was responsible for the script writing and direction of several video productions for the medical center, and an award-winning television healthcare program which won the Gold Award for “Total Public Relations Program” in the 21st Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards Competition and the Silver Award in the 2004 Aster Awards. She wrote the copy for and acted as the art director for a history publication and a subsequent “Wall of History.”

Marie has been a freelance correspondent for two Bucks County newspapers, and she has ghostwritten and/or edited published articles and books by several physicians. She also has conducted and developed creative writing workshops, motivational presentations, and lectures for local colleges.

In 2004, Marie served as a photojournalist covering the first medical mission to refugee camps in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the humanitarian aid organization, His Work In Progress.