By Dominic Calabrese
Embarking upon an ambitious agenda to grow its membership while strengthening ties with journalists, opinion-makers and other communicators, two distinguished PR pros Kimberley Rudd and Anne Marie Mitchell recently assumed the Publicity Club of Chicago's (PCC) leadership mantle as Co-Presidents of the 84-year-old organization.
A communications and business management professional with 35 years of experience, Rudd is President of her own agency, Rudd Resources.
Mitchell has been Senior Vice President of Reputation Partners since 2023, building on more than 30 years' experience as a communications consultant, strategist, educator, and trainer.
Both women said they were thrilled to become co-leaders of PCC, a group they described as "one of the premier communications organizations in the country."
“It’s an honor to work with so many dedicated and creative members to strengthen the reputation of PCC and grow its impact,” said Mitchell. “We have a strong foundation to build on.”
Among other goals Rudd and Mitchell cite are:
- continuing to show the value of being in community with professionals who share information and create stories to keep our region informed, connected and thriving especially now — when we are recognizing the harm of disconnection and the impact of knowledge-sharing especially in a digital era — our physical coming together is still important.
- continue to produce a high-caliber and highly competitive awards program that shines a light on communicators' best work.
(from left to right, DeRondal Bevly, Kimberley Rudd, Anne Marie Mitchell, and Jim O'Reilly at the 66th Annual Golden Trumpet Awards ceremony; Bevly and O'Reilly serve as Immediate Past Co-Presidents and Rudd and Mitchell serve as Co-Presidents)
A skilled project manager, Rudd is trusted to provide counsel, support and ideas for communications plans, media relations, branding and content assignments. Her agency’s clients include Cubic Corporation, Discover Financial Services, the Polk Bros. Foundation and Elevated Chicago.
Before founding the agency, Rudd owned and operated two women’s fitness franchises and was active as a certified dance fitness instructor in two genres.
She also led marketing and development for KABOOM, helped launch the Chicago Park District’s marketing department, and developed and managed PR programs for Burrell Public Relations.
Rudd is a graduate of Northwestern University, a board member of Woods Fund Chicago, the Publicity Club of Chicago and IFF's Local Market Advisory Council, a charter member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Chicago Metropolitan Chapter and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Throughout her career, Mitchell has specialized in employee and leader communications as a consultant working with leaders at Fortune 100 companies as well as in-house with companies including Sara Lee, Case Corporation, ComEd, Rand McNally and others.
She is a specialist in helping C-Suite leaders deliver impactful messages that retain and motivate employees during times of crisis and culture transition.
While working as a PR professional, Mitchell also taught public relations as associate professor at Columbia College Chicago for 15 years.
Fluent in Spanish and having lived and worked in Europe, Mexico and South America, she is particularly adept at supporting organizations with complex, global workforces.
Mitchell is a graduate of Indiana University and has her MA in Spanish literature from Loyola University. In addition to serving as co-president of PCC, she serves on the board of Steep Theatre.
Mitchell and Rudd look forward to a robust year of PCC activities and encourage PCC members to lean in with their experience.