Pitch Perfect: the PR Podcast
Ep. 16 - Cynthia McCafferty, President, Hawthorne Strategy Group - Politics to PR, nonprofit work, state of journalism, career management
Cynthia McCafferty is President and CEO of Hawthorne Strategy Group, a Chicago-based PR agency with a wide range of clients and a particular focus on non-profit work for public and para-public agencies. Before joining Hawthorne in 2015, Cynthia spent nearly two decades at FleishmanHillard International Communications in St. Louis, where she served as a senior vice president and senior partner. Cynthia elevates communication programs for clients across sectors, applying her Solutions-focused mindset to organizations such as the Women’s Business Development Center, Chicago Dental Society, Choose Chicago and Washington University as well as national and global brands including McCormick Place, Organogenesis SAC Wireless, Evinrude and Red Bull. Cynthia began her career as a grassroots organizer for a statewide environmental organization before moving into lobbying and electoral politics—early experiences that sharpened her instincts for public sentiment, policy dynamics, and the fast‑moving nature of issues management. We talked about politics and the intersection with PR, the realities of working with non-profits, the state of journalism in 2026, career management, and a bunch of other topics.
