We’re excited to welcome our newest Teak Media + Communication team member, Shermarie Hyppolite. Shermarie joined us in October as an Account Coordinator and will be supporting clients and Teak team members across digital and media.
Shermarie grew up in the Greater Boston area and graduated from UMass Amherst in 2023 with a BA in Communication and a secondary major in Journalism-Public Relations. Before coming to Teak Media, Shermarie started her career at Kickstand working with B2B tech clients within the education, healthcare, public safety and consumer spaces.
What drew you to this position at Teak?
Teak’s commitment to partnering with companies and organizations that positively impact their communities and the world around them inspired me to take the leap from B2B tech to nonprofit communications. I am excited for the opportunity to work alongside people who are passionate about uplifting positive work that is making the world better.
What causes are you passionate about?
Recently, my online friends and I helped raise money for the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective also known as BEAM. Many Black people have grown up hearing that having mental health issues makes you a bad person and that seeking medical diagnoses is unnecessary. Within the Haitian community, mental health is often overlooked and ignored. It felt rewarding to support an organization that advocates for the destigmatization of therapy and emotional wellness through emotional healthcare, education and art.
What do you enjoy about media relations?
I love being able to see the results of pitching and working with journalists to secure media coverage that provides insights into the work that the organization does. I also like to make clients happy and enjoy the storytelling aspect of it all. Sharing the human side of things bridges the gap between the audience and the organization. It allows audiences to make informed decisions that impact their personal lives and also society around them. Having a conscious responsibility encourages me to do my best comms work possible.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Outside of work, I enjoy both gaming and reading in my free time. When it comes to books, I love reading outdoors or at cafés, usually with music playing in the background and tracking reading progress on Fable. I’m open to a wide range of genres, but I have a particular soft spot for romance and fantasy. Beyond reading, I’m passionate about open-world and creative virtual games, especially those rich in lore such as Palia and Black Desert Online. I see gaming as an extension of my love for immersive storytelling and world-building.
What’s a fun fact about you?
In 2022, I was part of the UMass Amherst Social Behavioral Sciences cohort selected to travel to Washington, D.C., for a month-long internship with a public relations agency. During my time as a research intern for the kglobal public relations firm, I helped coordinate the in-house podcast, record content, create backgrounders and researched exciting new guests to be considered for future recordings. Outside of the podcast, I worked with kglobal’s health, tech and political clients, providing refreshed media lists and trend reports for the internal teams. I consider the trip one of the most exciting experiences of my life. It allowed me to meet new people, immerse myself in the local culture, and gain hands-on experience in public relations.
