Family and Career

Casey lives in Nashua with her son, Matthew, and husband Christian. Matthew was born at Southern NH Medical Center. He was kept out of almost his entire seventh grade due to the COVID restrictions placed by the majority of the school committee, with the exception of Paula Johnson. Casey has lived the New Hampshire experience, having been in the state 25 years +. She has seen our state change. Her son was born here, and her parents died here. She has one home and that is in New Hampshire. Her son was a St. Rita miracle baby born when Casey was 42 and a Member of the House of Representatives. She frequently brought him to her education committee meetings. He is currently in high school in Nashua. Casey enjoys bingo and is a big general hospital fan. Her family and her husbands were both in the military, and as a young child, she was moved from base to base. She credits that upbringing with determining her career in communications. “It is impossible to be shy when you’re constantly introducing yourself at a new school.” Having found her forever home in New Hampshire, Casey put down roots and decided to raise a family. When her father became ill with Cancer, Heart trouble(stents), and Alzheimer's, she and her mother cared for him until one very sad day when her otherwise healthy mom was diagnosed with brain tumors out of nowhere and was given a month to live. Casey stopped all of her consulting work and campaign work and moved her father into her home, and cared for him for 7 years until his death. She knows what it is to care for a loved one with little to no help, the stress of dealing with Alzheimer's and the stress of being a caretaker.

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 As a child, having lived in Newport, RI, and Pax River, MD, growing up, she had the opportunity to experience internships with the Secretary of the US Senate, Congresswoman Claudine Snyder, and  Sen. John Chafee’s office in DC. She took the bus every day to DC with her Dad and literally went and bugged them until they created an internship for her. It all began with a heartfelt appeal to the Secretary of the Senate. He called her and asked her to come to work in the Senate Staff Stationery store. When Senator Chaffee’s office said they only took interns sent by the schools, she asked if they would create a special “press internship.” Impressed by her lack of giving up and creative thought, Sen. John Chafee said yes to the persuasive young woman. The press internship created continued long after Casey left.   From a young age, she had the opportunity to do three different internships and learn how Congress works.

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Later, after graduating from Salve Regina, she returned to Washington and worked for one of the country's leading Israeli lobbyists, the well-known Morrie Amitay, executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)[1] (1974–1980), vice chairman of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and the founder and treasurer of the Washington Political Action Committee. The Washington Post credited him for turning AIPAC "into one of the most effective advocacy organizations in Washington". She learned a lot about affairs in the Middle East, sitting and listening as Morrie had the leaders of our day in and out of his office. Leaders include Jack Kemp, Marvin Klemow of EL AL Airlines, and the Israeli Ambassador. This first-hand contact with the leaders of our time shaped her philosophy on many issues.

 

While working for Morrie, she met the bureau chief of WPIX-TV11, who was housed in the same building at 400-444 North Capitol. He was desperate for a receptionist, and he knew she must be good if she worked for Morrie. He promised to make her a Capitol Hill/White House producer upon the first opening if she took the job. He kept his promise. Casey respects that you work your way up in this world and can’t expect to start at the top, just like her service in the community in New Hampshire. She does not like the political opportunism that comes with having money or wanting the TV coverage NH provides candidates to launch onto the national stage. She actually wants to solve problems for the people of New Hampshire. Casey believes it’s important to learn and respect work on the local and state levels and how they interact with the federal level to be able to help your constituents navigate bureaucracy and ensure our communities are getting what they need. The needs of the local communities of New Hampshire are different from those of other states. The only way to truly understand this is to put in the work and serve at the local and state levels. She is also a successful PR/Marketing consultant with many clients, including a football team.

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Community

After working on Mayor Streeter’s campaign, Casey volunteered in his office and initiated and ran many new programs. Mayor’s Honors Night honored deserving groups like the Granite Statesmen at City Hall in the Rotunda. Once a month, Casey ran Mayor’s Honors Night for years. To promote civics, she also began the Mayor’s Presidential Essay Competition. Every elementary school, public and private, in Nashua participated, and schoolchildren from the fifth grade turned in more than 1200 essays. She also served on boards the Mayor appointed her to like the Cable Advisory board.

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Her most notable achievement is still talked about today. One day after 9/11, Casey approached the Mayor and asked if she could run a large event at Nashua South honoring our New Hampshire families who had lost a family member. Mayor Streeter appointed her chairman of a committee that consisted of police, military, community, and DPW. Working together as patriots, Democrats and Republicans all took part and had a role in the event. Many people remember this in Nashua as one of our shining moments. On October 11th, Nashua had over 5000 people come to what President Bush deemed one of the first, if not the first, large-scale events of patriotic support for our country. Visiting the homes of everyone who lost a family member is a memory Casey will never forget. According to Casey, “ I will always carry with me the image of Elizabeth Kovalcin of Hudson standing on the stage with her beautiful blond little girl in her arms as she said, ‘People ask me what can I do for you? And I now respond, Go After the Man who took away my daughters’ Knight in shining armor.” It was one of the most moving things I have ever experienced, and there were many tears for our country and neighbors. These moments brought us together and made us realize why it is so important always to be proud to be a patriot and an American.”

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After serving on the local level, Casey won multiple terms in the NH legislature and served as a State Representative from ward 2.