Using Skills To Make The World A Better Place For Others

North End Patch’s feature, "Meet Your Neighbors," is just that -- discovering more about fellow residents or people who work in the neighborhood and make this community such a nice place to live.

Who?

Krista Robinson of North Margin Street

What?

Public Relations executive, political activist, volunteer tutor

Her story:

Krista Robinson said she and her roommate think the North End is the perfect neighborhood for them.

“I find the people very friendly and everything you need is right here,” she said. “It’s safe because people look out for each other in this community.”

So she was thrilled to move here in the fall of 2008 with one of her best friends from college.

Originally from Portland, Maine, Krista loves the ocean and – after a year living in Somerville – knew she had to get back to a spot in the city where she can see, hear and smell the sea.

It was the right choice, she said.

“It’s wonderful living here,” said the 27-year-old senior account executive at O’Neill and Associates in Boston. “The waterfront is beautiful, walking around is exciting and I love the North End Library. I was so sad when it closed on Sundays because I used to spend hours there.”

In addition to sampling the neighborhood restaurants and using the branch library, Krista also swims at the public pool on Commerce Street.

“We call it the cement beach,” she joked.

Public relations is like political science

In her position in the communications division at O’Neill and Associates, Krista uses a lot of the skills she learned as a political science major at the University of Maine and when she studied for a master’s degree in the same field at Suffolk University.

“Public relations is really about conveying an entity’s message to a targeted audience,” Krista explained.

Recently promoted from an account executive to a senior account executive, her days involve working with for-profit and non-profit companies to help deliver their message to their audiences in fields such as transportation, higher education, financial services and health care.

“A lot of how we approach running a public relations campaign is similar to how someone would run a political campaign,” Krista said. “So it was a natural step from school to working at O’Neill and Associates because much of what I learned in school is applicable to my job.”

Still political

And Krista remains politically active despite the long hours she puts in at work.

“Ever since I was young, I was interested in politics,” she said. “When I was a child, I was fascinated by the Revolutionary War era.”

Later on, Krista became engrossed in current events and registered to vote as soon as she was eligible.

The first presidential election she was able to go to the polls was in 2004 and then the second time was in 2008.

Now, Krista is actively involved in politics and volunteers for the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus in Boston.

“It’s a non-partisan organization with the main mission of encouraging and helping elect women in public service positions,” she said.

Krista serves as the co-chairman of the Young Professional Board for the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.

“As young professionals, we’re responsible for encouraging young women to become involved in the group and to volunteer for campaigns of people we’ve endorsed,” she said. “We also host events for professional development including financial issues and life skills.”

One of the things the board wants is to promote independence so a young woman can make informed decisions on her own, Krista said.

Volunteering and community involvement

O’Neill and Associates encourages its employees to volunteer in areas that interest them and become a part of their communities.

Krista embraces that philosophy.

She admits it can sometimes be challenging to juggle work, political involvement and volunteer activities.

“Volunteering is a lot of work,” Krista said. “I’m constantly in touch with the executive director of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.”

She typically spends 15-20 hours a month on board work and even more during election season.

Moreover, Krista is a tutor at Cristo Rey Boston High School in Dorchester where she helps students with English language skills once a week.

“It’s so rewarding,” she said about tutoring. Along with a colleague at O’Neill and Associates, Krista tutored math to a student last spring.

“We got her passed!” she said. “To see the impact that had on this young girl’s life was wonderful.”

A perfect job

Perhaps most important of all, Krista is extremely happy in her professional life.

“O’Neill and Associates is such a wonderful place to work,” she said. “It’s a great environment and we’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other.”

There are a lot of former journalists who work for the company that Krista very much appreciates.

“It’s similar to a newsroom with a lot of energy and exchange of ideas,” she said. “We work hard for our clients and I love that it’s definitely not a typical 9-5 job.”