Sonya awarded CIPR Fellowship

The accolade was awarded to Ms Cassidy for her “outstanding” work in the field over the past 25 years.

It not only demonstrates her devotion to the industry but best practice, professionalism and role as an advocate for CIPR, which is the world’s only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners, with nearly 10,000 members.

Ms Cassidy was one of seven members to be awarded a Fellowship so far this year.

To date, Ms Cassidy’s career has seen her work with some of the biggest private and public sector organisations in Northern Ireland and further afield.

Specialising in strategic, creative and results-driven communications, her clients span a wide range of industries including financial services, property, renewable energy, social enterprise, hospitality, food and drink and travel and tourism.

Locally, Ms Cassidy’s client list includes Action Cancer, Agnew Group, MCL InsureTech, Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, Ilimex Limited, Hinch Distillery, Simpson Developments, The Salthouse and Bishop’s Gate Hotel. She has attracted almost two dozen awards over the years for her campaigns including her work with the £1.7m Tellus South West Project, a geological mapping project which uncovered the environmental makeup of Cornwall, Devon and parts of Somerset. For this particular project she was the recipient of a gold award at the CIPR PRide Awards.

Prior to setting up her own agency — a role Ms Cassidy has undertaken for the past decade — she made her mark in a number of communication agencies around NI and globally including Weber Shandwick. She also spent a secondment in-house at Nespresso’s global headquarters in Lausanne, Geneva.

Most recently Ms Cassidy has expanded her portfolio to welcome some of the pandemic’s most entrepreneurial seedling firms including the creators of a new air steriliser, the Ilimex UV-C Air Steriliser, which can kill up to 99.9999% of airborne pathogens including Covid-19.

Ms Cassidy said: “I am honoured to join the ranks of PR Fellows. Championing our profession and advocating learning are two hugely important areas for me. This Fellowship not only gives recognition for all the work I’ve put in over the years but it also provides an opportunity to take what I have learned and share it with others on their PR journey.”

Congratulating Sonya on her Fellowship, CIPR Northern Ireland Chair, Arlene McPhillips said: “On behalf of CIPR Northern Ireland I would like to congratulate Sonya on her CIPR fellowship appointment. The appointment is testament to her experience and dedication to the public relations profession here in Northern Ireland and underpins her commitment to CIPR. I am thrilled that she joins 20 practitioners in Northern Ireland who have already been recognised by CIPR as our Fellows play an important role in helping promote professionalism, demonstrate best practice and raise awareness of the benefits of CIPR membership.”

CIPR President, Mandy Pearse Chart PR, FCIPR added: “Many congratulations to our seven new Fellows. This is a much-deserved recognition of your professional achievements and the time and expertise you have each given back to our community. As ambassadors for the CIPR you drive forward our values of a commitment to life-long learning, professionalism, and ethical practice which does so much for the whole profession and demonstrates our value and purpose to the outside world.”

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