Cassie Gaffney Rejoins ACS as Senior Strategist

 Cassie Gaffney Rejoins Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC as Senior Strategist

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC is pleased to announce Cassie Gaffney as the firm’s newest Senior Strategist. Ms. Gaffney will direct and support government relations and advocacy, policy analysis, strategic communication planning, and strategy development for ACS clients in Ohio and throughout the country.

Cassie brings more than a decade of experience advocating for organizations at the state and federal levels and building communication, electoral, and community engagement strategies throughout the country. Most recently, she served as the Director of Government Affairs at Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, where she led the agency’s government relations and public policy strategies. In this role, Cassie worked to augment government funding to increase support services for survivors of sexual violence and increase prevention programming. Additionally, her efforts influenced public policies that support survivors and promote prevention, and created strong linkages between the Center and community partners. She supported the effort to establish a City of Cleveland working group to develop legislation that will require employers to provide job-protected leave for employees that are survivors of domestic or sexual violence, and designed and implemented the Center’s advocacy efforts that resulted in securing $250,000 in funding from Cuyahoga County to support survivors of sexual violence. Cassie also supported advocacy efforts that increased funding for Ohio’s rape crisis centers from $1.5M annually to more than $4.5M annually through the state’s operating budget.

“Cassie brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to our firm.” Said Lori McClung, ACS Chief Executive Officer, “From public policy at the local, state, and federal levels, community engagement, and communication strategy, Cassie is not only familiar with our firm and many of our clients, but brings a unique personal and professional perspective that will deepen our national footprint.”

Cassie has extensive experience in the realm of politics, policy, and advocacy at the state and federal levels – and former experience on the ACS team as a Strategist from 2012-2017. During that time, she led the development and implementation of customized policy and advocacy strategies for clients, facilitated strategy and training sessions for diverse organizations and government agencies, and created and implemented strategic communication plans for organizations of all kinds. Before her time at ACS, she managed congressional campaigns and fundraising efforts throughout the state of Ohio, including serving as a spokesperson for various political candidates.

“As was the case when Cassie was first with ACS, her commitment to the issues, clients, and people we serve is clear.” said ACS President Scarlett Bouder. “But what sets her apart from her peers is her deep experience, understanding and substantive outcomes with the type of customized projects and strategies that are the foundation of our firm.”

“It is exciting to rejoin the ACS team and to put my experiences to work with clients throughout the country.” Said Gaffney. “I will be able to continue to advance projects that I helped to build during my original tenure and of course begin new ones in the years to come.”

Cassie earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Muskingum University and completed a Master of Urban Planning, Design, and Development degree program at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. While at Cleveland State, she was awarded the Wallace G. Teare Award in recognition of her advocacy for quality housing for low-income and elderly individuals. In November 2015, Cassie received the National Excellence in Advocacy by an Up and Coming Practitioner award at the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. She currently serves on the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Grievance Committee. Cassie lives in Lakewood, Ohio with her dog Bennie.

About Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC

ACS is one of the only female and minority owned consulting firms in Ohio, receiving various local, national and international awards for their work. ACS has gained a national reputation for not only its advocacy, communication and strategy development expertise but also a deep understanding of matters within the early childhood, K-12, workforce, Medicaid, and health and human services fields across the non profit, government, and philanthropic sectors. Learn more about ACS at www.advocacyandcommunication.org