NAN Celebrates Living Black History, Honoring Rachel Noerdlinger

Every day during Black History Month, we will honor chapter leaders, advocates, and partners who are shaping Black History now.

(February 8th, 2021) — Today, we honor Rachel Noerdlinger.

Mercury, which is a leading global, bipartisan public strategy firm, recently announced that it has promoted Communications Strategist Rachel Noerdlinger to partner. In making this historic move, Noerdlinger becomes the first Black female partner in the firm’s history.

Rachel has brought visibility to critical cases in civil rights and politics during her two decades of experience in strategic communications, crisis management, and public affairs, along with community engagement in electoral politics and business.

She is based out of the New York City office where she practices strategic communications, crisis management, and public affairs, along with community engagement in electoral politics and business. She is an expert on issues related to diversity, inclusion, and strengthening relationships for companies working in communities of color.

Before joining Mercury, Rachel was the Chief of Staff for New York City’s First Lady, Chirlane McCray, and prior to that she was President of Noerdlinger Media, the consulting firm representing a cross-sector of high-profile clients in politics, business, civil rights, law, and entertainment.

Rachel has over twenty-five years of experience in communications and she has been positively featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Daily News, The New York Amsterdam News, and other publications. She has been featured in Essence Magazine as one of the top ten females in the country making strides in her respective field, and she has been called “the public relations force behind Rev. Al Sharpton and National Action Network,” whom she has advised in communications since the late ’90s. Recently she was named to the Inaugural New York Power of Diversity: Black 100 list by City & State.

Rachel received her public relations tutelage from one of the country’s preeminent publicists, Terrie M. Williams, whose firm she joined as an intern in 1994 and where she worked her way up to the position of Vice President. Rachel gives credit to Terrie for teaching her about the art of public relations and all of the intricacies of message and brand development, crisis management, and communications strategy.

A Mills College graduate, Rachel moved to New York City in 1993 after completing a year in the Teachers for Africa Program in The Gambia, West Africa. She enrolled in a Master’s program at Teacher’s College at Columbia University in education but did not complete the program after discovering the field of communications through her internship at The Terrie Williams Agency.

Rachel’s career highlights include her work bringing visibility to critical cases in civil rights and politics, as well as her role as Press Secretary during Rev. Al Sharpton’s 2004 Presidential bid and her role as a public relations advisor to the late Attorney Johnnie L Cochran, Jr.

Rachel has led successful public relations campaigns around key social justice issues and has brought visibility to such issues as education, employment, and voter education.