Goodbye Ghost Fly
August 12, 2009
Inevitably we would leave the Camino PR starter office.
Our basement office was once a stable for the work-horses that carted baked goods through Manhattan. In the first weeks we hauled out debris and installed large bamboo mats and oversized desks to create a comfortable but frugal workspace. We sanitized everything, but still I was so convinced that rats and roaches would make their appearance that my mother shipped us a diaper-genie type trash can that tightly seals any evidence of food. I was wrong to be afraid, only two living creatures emerged: a horse fly that periodically buzzed through the office like a Blue Angel air show, and a gigantic wasp that spontaneously reproduced and then flew away. I don’t know why the wasp visited, but I believe our supersize fly held the spirit of horse flies past, reminding us to recognize those things upon which we build our future.
Our carriage house was the kind of office where you could sketch on the wall and spill paint on the floor. One day Woody Allen and Larry David showed up and turned the carriage house into a temporary movie set. Many Tuesdays we ended the day with creative hour, when Tomas and Sean would practice guitar and Mary would bring in a bag of sweets from the Donut Pub.
But there were downsides too. It’s the kind of office that makes you worried about getting your nice suit dusty from crumbling pillars. The air was stale and smelled vaguely of horses, despite our abundance of aromatherapy and the constant whir of the air purifier. The original window and door could not be sealed, and on frigid days the narrow stone stairwell created a wind tunnel that swept directly into our meeting area. Cell phones sputtered as if we were in a bunker and every evening we wrapped our computers in colorful silk scarves to prevent them from taking in too much dust.
“We aren’t a typical corporate office” Loretta often says, words I soothe myself with when we are doing other-duties-as-assigned like pouring animal-friendly salt on the icy stone steps. I have known many lovely typical corporate offices but we’ll always be a little quirky, like our carriage house roots. We have moved just two blocks. We now work on the floors above a poster store that houses the largest collection of movie posters in the world. Oversized double doors in our top floor open onto a large wooden deck that gives us a rooftop view of Chelsea.
After working hard underground we are taking in deep breaths of fresh air. I am grateful for our roots and for the friends who give us momentum. Goodbye first Camino home. Thank you and goodbye, ghost fly.
Camino PR client, NLIRH, featured in Sotomayor confirmation media coverage
August 10, 2009
Hispanosphere, the prominent Latino current events and politics blog for The Orlando Sentinel, covered NLIRH in its round-up of national expert commentary on Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. Featured alongside Tim Kaine of the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Karen L. Thurman, Florida Democratic Party Chair, SEIU, the National Partnership for Women & Families, National Council of La Raza, among others, the nation’s leading Latina voice for reproductive health and rights was quoted as saying, “The Senate confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor heralds a new era of diversity in our courts. Judge Sotomayor offers inspiration for Latinas as her confirmation has challenged stereotypes and demonstrated the growing political power of the Latino community,” said Silvia Henriquez, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH). Judge Sotomayor will play a pivotal role in promoting the dignity and well being of our families and our communities. Her confirmation signals hope for not only expanded legal access to abortion but also for expanded social access to the full range of reproductive health care, such as health care funding for poor women. Judge Sotomayor’s body of work and judicial philosophy reveals a sophisticated analysis of social issues and the important role of the court in safeguarding human dignities.”
And, in more exciting news, on the week that Judge Sotomayor begins her new role as Supreme Court Justice, NLIRH will host a national ‘Quinceañera’ gala to celebrate the coming-of-age of a new era of Latina empowerment. NLIRH was founded fifteen years after the first Latina was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and fifteen years later we are ready to toast the first Latina to sit on the nation’s highest court. Camino PR is proud to celebrate this tremendous achievement with NLIRH.
Camino PR client NLIRH makes the Wall Street Journal today!
July 21, 2009
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) announcement of its support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor got picked up in the Wall Street Journal Washington Wire. NLIRH is the only latina reproductive health and justice advocacy group to date to be quoted in any national news outlets on the nomination. We expect Silvia Henriquez and her team to stay in the spotlight as Judge Sotomayor moves closer to making history on the Supreme Court. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect - NLIRH celebrates its 15th anniversary at a major Washington DC gala just as the new Supreme Court begins their work in October. The “Quincineara” celebration for NLIRH marks a new coming-of-age for the Latino/a civil rights movement, and seeing Judge Sotomayor starting her new job will be a fitting tribute to NLIRH’s 15 years of leadership. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/07/21/after-waiting-weeks-abortion-rights-group-backs-sotomayor/
Reaching diverse audiences: CPR connects non profits with ethnic media
July 16, 2009
Did you know– According to New American Media, ethnic media is the “fastest growing sector of American journalism”? With more than 51 million adult followers, and 3,000 ethic media outlets, are you maximizing your organization’s voice with these audiences? This week at Planned Parenthood’s national conference, Elizabeth Toledo, president of Camino Public Relations and a leader in strategic ethnic media communications, will train community organizers, communications specialists, activists and advocates from across the country on how to connect and reach diverse audiences as part of their social justice campaigns. To learn more about this and other forms of the media, visit CPR at http://caminopr.com.
Camino client publishes groundbreaking health & safety research
July 8, 2009
Congratulations to Planned Parenthood for their groundbreaking research on increasing patient health and safety, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Leading health reporters nationwide are publishing articles about Planned Parenthood’s proactive work. Columbia University professor Beverly Winikoff is quoted in the Associated Press story, “this is the first really huge documentation of how safe and effective medical abortion is. The technology is very good and very well used in this country, and probably will be used more.”
Camino PR is dedicated to supporting access to safe, reliable medical care. We are proud to support Planned Parenthood’s work.