2025 Women in CRE: Carin McDonald, CMM Strategic Communications

What has been the most rewarding project or deal you’ve worked on in your career, and why?

While CMM Strategic Communications handles a diverse portfolio of projects for our commercial real estate clients, some of my most rewarding professional experiences were as an in-house PR manager for an acute-care hospital. I was involved in projects from conception to completion and felt like I contributed in a small way to bringing world-class medical care to my community. These projects included a new radiation oncology center, a dialysis center and a neonatal care unit.

What skill or quality do you believe is essential for success in your field today?

True journalism skills, and an ability to deploy them, are essential for success in CRE public relations and communications. This means writing and thinking like an editor and reporter and truly understanding what makes news. Other critical skills include the ability to be succinct yet thorough, be willing to pick up the phone and talk through news concepts and convey to clients that a press release is not a tool for forcing your message, it is about balancing the message with what matters to a publication’s readership.

If you could change one thing about the CRE industry, what would it be and why?

It would be to increase representation among women and minorities. I often sit in meetings with brokers and developers, and create content for various company websites, and wonder: ‘Why am I the only woman at this table? Why aren’t there any women on the management page here?’ Diversifying industry sectors – from CRE and beyond – is crucial for bringing new perspectives and ideas, which leads to better problem-solving and innovation. This is an important ingredient for helping businesses of all shapes and sizes remain competitive well into the future.