One of the best things about working in communications consulting is the opportunity to work on interesting projects with great clients. Every day our team learns something new from our clients -- subject matter experts who are leaders in their fields, reshaping the public policy landscape and planning for the future of our region. In return, it’s exciting for us to help them translate their ideas into terrific media stories, dynamic digital posts and ongoing social content.

In no particular order, below is a sample of some of the interesting projects our team worked on this year:

• Launch of Encore Boston Harbor – more than 100 journalists from across the Northeast and around the world arrived in Everett to catch the first glimpse of Encore Boston Harbor, its 15 restaurants, spa, hotel rooms, bus and water shuttles, and, of course, a gaming floor unlike any other in the Northeast. Most of our team logged well over 20,000 steps a day touring journalists through the building, staffing live shots, and organizing press conferences and interviews. And kudos to our friends at GZA for their role in transforming the once-industrial site and engineering the Resort’s living waterfront. 
• Beth Israel Lahey Health is formed – bringing together BIDMC with Lahey Health and 11 other hospitals that cover eastern Massachusetts from Gloucester to Plymouth. The size of the merger was significant (a total of 4,300 physicians and 9,000 nurses practice in those hospitals) but the real differentiator is an approach to care that maximizes the strengths of both the academic medical centers and local community hospitals to provide patient focused, high quality, cost-sensitive care.
• A master plan for the Boston Common is underway – and The Friends of the Public Garden are working hard to assure that the vision includes input from the broadest possible base of constituents (you can still take the survey!). At the same time, the Friends have their eye on assuring that the expansive green space at the heart of Boston’s downtown remains well cared for as they enter the 50th year of their work as stewards for the Boston Common, Public Garden and Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
• Women leaders continue to make an impact across the city – with many of our non-profits, institutional partners and corporate clients led by women, two in particular stand out this year. Malia Lazu is taking the banking industry by storm and reimagining the way Berkshire Bank can partner with minority owned businesses and residents to foster success and equity. Leslie Cohen takes the reigns as president at NAIOP, while continuing to lead operations at Samuels & Associates as one of the region’s premier placemakers and a great employer as well. Both won BBJ Women Who Mean Business Awards for their efforts. We were also delighted that Renee Kwok of TFC Financial was recognized by Investment News and Elizabeth Becker was appointed the new head of MAAPS.
• Transportation was the hot story of 2019 – A Better City released a report on the need for more funding for public transit, ITDP continues to lead the way in promoting Bus Rapid Transit regionally, MASCO invests in creative solutions to encourage public transit use, Boston Harbor Now pursued water transit solutions, and The Transportation Table (T3) offered recommendations on how to address transit chokepoints.
• A number of other clients had nice wins, including Ben Franklin Institute of Technology’s finding a new home in Nubian Square, Mark Development’s exciting new projects in Kenmore Square and Riverside (Newton), the opening of the grand new entrance to TD Garden, Mayflower Wind’s selection to build wind turbines off the coast of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Nutter’s appointing two terrific new Managing Partners, and New England Aquarium’s Vikki Spruill taking on a big role in positioning the org (and region) for a climate change future.

We’re also grateful to continue to work with our longtime partner, Kelley Chunn – she did outstanding grassroots work on the Shaw Memorial restoration and earned top honors from PRSA this year. Several team members were on site when partner Marjorie Aarons-Barron was honored by the MA Broadcasters Hall of Fame. And in Denterlein news, we were pleased to join the PR World Alliance – we love sharing insights and strategies with our global partners in this terrific network of independent firms.

Onward to an equally invigorating, ideas-driven 2020…