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A former journalist with a background in real estate, Tina Cassidy, executive vice president and chief content officer at InkHouse, brings a distinctive approach to her role in public relations.
Incorporating her knowledge of both industries, she enjoys helping clients market their projects through new forms of media.
“We’re creating really fun social media campaigns for a range of clients – so that can mean targeting very particular audiences if they need to reach investors or potential tenants in a very specific ZIP code,” she said.
The national firm has approximately two dozen real estate clients and is founded by women, which was initially one of the aspects that drew Cassidy there in the first place.
“We all work together to help each other succeed. It’s a feminine approach to the workplace,” she said. “There’s a lot of conversation in the workplace about women’s empowerment.”
InkHouse works to provide equal pay, paid maternity leave, a mother’s room, flex time and work-from-home Fridays.
“These are all the things that every workplace today should have if they want to encourage more female leaders,” she said. “We have very low turnover. We work very hard to create that supportive environment.”
Cassidy is also passionate about the variety of clients with which the firm works. She is currently working on the Government Center Garage redevelopment project and with the city of Boston to drive engagement for Imagine Boston2030.
One of the most satisfying parts of that, she said, is “shaping the future of a 400-year-old city and using 21st century tools to reach the broadest section of people for engagement. Using new tools to get young people engaged, people of color – how do you reach them?” she said. “That’s what our challenge is and we feel quite successful in being able to do that.”
Cassidy also enjoys mentoring younger employees at InkHouse to not only help them visualize how they can be successful, but also give them the tools in order to achieve it.
“Junior employees look up to her and respect her, and perhaps most importantly, they aspire to be her,” said one of her three nominators, Beth Monaghan, cofounder and CEO at Inkhouse.
Additionally, Cassidy is active on several committees and has a range of volunteer commitments. In 2014, she ran the Boston Marathon for Team MR8, the foundation established by the family of Martin Richard, and helped with its social media the first year.
Monaghan describes Cassidy as “living life with her arms wide open.”
“The causes that I gravitate toward are ones that I feel personally invested in – ones that make the community stronger,” Cassidy said.
Another organization that she is particularly passionate about is the New England Center of Investigative Reporting, where she is on the board.
“I believe that freedom of the press is the foundation of democracy,” she said.
At a time when the press is under fire from so many different angles, it is important to highlight the power and effectiveness of investigative journalism, Cassidy said.
“It’s rewarding for me, as a former journalist, to be a resource for journalists,” she said. “It’s really exciting to be able to think about, ‘if I were a journalist, would I want to write this story?’”
At the end of the day, it’s all about “building those relationships with journalists and giving them really good stories,” Cassidy said.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify the number of clients at InkHouse. The two dozen reflects the company’s real estate clients, rather than its total number of clients. The article previously stated employees receive Fridays off, however they are work-from-home days.
