CASSIDY BLACKWELL, Project Assistant

Education
B.A. Washington University in St. Louis.

Professional Background
Cassidy moved to the Bay Area after graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied French Literature, Architecture, and International and Area Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she spent a semester in France, where she studied the architectural and social development of a Toulouse neighborhood from the 15th century to present day. Back in the states, Cassidy completed a senior capstone project in the School of Architecture analyzing 50 years of St. Louis urban development and projecting the development of the city 50 years into the future.

After relocating to the Bay Area, Cassidy worked as a media relations and communications specialist, developing key messaging and branding documents; conceptualizing and executing media campaigns; establishing and maintaining relationships with local and national journalists; and writing and distributing press releases and other materials to media contacts. As a consultant, Cassidy worked with a broad range of clients including Google, Jawbone, MOG.com, Masterworks Institute for Works on Paper, NapaStyle, and green architect, Michelle Kaufmann.

Most recently, Cassidy completed a Fellowship at the San Francisco-based Rosenberg Foundation. As a fellow, Cassidy worked on a variety of research projects to support the work of senior staff members in the areas of criminal justice, immigration rights and integration, and accountable development of the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco. Cassidy has also led a variety of volunteer projects including a 2005 benefit concert at to raise funds for local, national, and international causes, and the coordination and design of a mural painted by urban youth from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in the San Francisco Tenderloin neighborhood.

At Fern Tiger Associates, Cassidy will be working on, Voices to Vision, a community engagement project in Albany, California and assisting with other Bay Area-based projects.