Finding Perspective (and Connection) in Boston

by Allie Walker

Last week, I spent a few days in Boston for the Croft Conference — a small but mighty gathering of about 30 PR professionals from across the country. It’s one of those rare spaces where you can be both a student and a peer, swapping best practices and big ideas while laughing over shared experiences that only people in our world truly understand. 

This was my fourth Croft Conference, and every year I walk away with something new — not just insights about our industry, but about myself as a leader. Over the years, the group has become more than just a professional network; it’s a circle of people who get it. People who know the highs of big wins and the weight of tough calls. 

This year, Ryan Gajewski and I shared a story about failure — the kind that stings at first but eventually shapes you. It wasn’t easy to put it out there, but the honesty opened the door to some really powerful conversations about leadership, letting go, and hiring. There’s something freeing about admitting that you don’t have it all figured out — and realizing that no one else does either. 

Outside of the sessions, we took time to experience Boston — including the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Walking through it brought back memories of being in the city back in 2003, when the “Big Dig” was still underway. To see how that massive, complicated project has transformed downtown into something so beautiful and accessible was pretty incredible. It’s a great reminder that the hard, messy work of transformation — whether in a city, an organization, or a career — is almost always worth it. 

I left Boston with a notebook full of ideas, a few new friends, and a sense of gratitude for this profession that keeps evolving — and for the people who make it better by showing up, sharing openly, and pushing each other to grow. 

Ryan Brown and Ryan Gajewski sit down to talk about Ryan’s experience at the Croft Conference 2025.