MEET TRACY SAMANTHA SCHMIDT
Let’s do PR without the BS.
My team and I help people and brands get the right attention — without retainers, without agencies, and without wasting time on things that don’t work.
I'll tell you what to go after, what to fix, and what to skip. That's the difference when your PR strategist is a veteran journalist & professor.
MY CLIENTS HAVE LANDED COVERAGE IN
OUR STORY
Why I started The PR Accelerator
I started this company because I kept meeting brilliant people who were getting terrible PR advice. They'd hire agencies, pay thousands a month, and have nothing to show for it. Or they'd try to do it themselves and get nowhere.
I'd spent 15 years in America’s top newsrooms. I knew what journalists actually respond to, how to build an engaged audience on social, and what it takes to land a stage. And I kept thinking — why is no one just telling people this?
So in 2022, I started telling people. And then I built a company around it.
Since then, my clients have gone viral at SXSW, raised $2.3 million on Kickstarter, landed exclusive coverage in the New York Times, become a recurring NBC contributor, and built a Substack audience of over a million people in just a few months. They've earned coverage in top-tier, trade, and local outlets and booked hundreds of podcast interviews — using the PR strategies I built for them, the messaging I helped them develop, and the tools I put in their hands.
That's what I mean by PR without the BS. My team and I give you the system. You get the results and the skills to keep getting publicity whenever you need it.
Select clients
1o8 Agency • 3Fold Collective • 7 Layer Design • Aether Biomedical • Advocate Healthcare • Aging Together • American Library Association • American Society of Anesthesiologists • Anderson Wanca • BCV • Brightpoint • Cardmill • The Chicago Network • City of Chicago • Crain Communications • Economic Restoration • Elmhurst University • Globowl • Grey Matter Training • Gundir • i.c.stars • Indigo Group • Institute for Nonviolence Chicago • Jumpstart The Job Search • Keenan Reid Strategies • Kin Insurance • MTG Media Group • Northwood Group • OKRP • Oliva Capital • Origin Investments • Project& • Redding Futures • Results Resourcing • Rotary International • Signal + Cipher • sisu • Technori • Unify America • University of Chicago • University of Illinois • Uptake Technologies • Vavoom Pinups • Veerless • Windy City Indie • YPO •
Since 2015, I’ve helped over 150 brands and hundreds of individuals get attention. They include:
MY BIO
About Tracy Samantha Schmidt
Tracy Samantha Schmidt is a trusted strategist to influential entrepreneurs, bestselling authors, speakers, artists, and all kinds of brands — helping them earn attention, build reputations, and get chosen faster.
She began her career as TIME Magazine's youngest reporter, covering the rise of social media and pioneering new ways to report the news. Her master's thesis also ran in TIME and was covered by The Today Show, Oprah, MTV, and Vogue.
Tracy later co-founded ChicagoNow.com, the Chicago Tribune’s groundbreaking influencer network, co-created a radio show on WGN, and went on to serve as a media executive at Crain Communications, where she led global social media strategy, unifying the efforts of 18 newsrooms and training hundreds of journalists.
She has also been a frequent TV commentator on ABC, CBS, and FOX, spoken at dozens of conferences, and taught personal branding to thousands of professionals.
A passionate educator, she spent a decade teaching marketing at the University of Chicago and has also taught graduate-level journalism. Additionally, she led social media training programs for TV newsrooms for the National Association of Broadcasters.
After advising more than 150 brands on marketing and communications, Tracy launched The PR Accelerator in 2022 to create an accessible alternative to PR agencies.
A Chicago-area native, she lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she’s starting an off-the-grid lavender farm with her husband.
Depending on your needs, I may recommend that you also work with one of our partners. Their services include media training, speechwriting, ghostwriting, writing coaching, content creation, digital PR, reputation management, and crisis communications.
My partners
Eric Benderoff
Eric Benderoff is a communications expert with 30 years of experience in journalism and public relations. He specializes in executive media training, interview strategy, and message development for business leaders, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs. A former Chicago Tribune tech columnist and business editor, he brings a journalist’s insight to media coaching.
At Burson, a global communications firm, Eric trained executives at major companies like Ford, Accenture, and Bank of America, and guided crisis communications for clients such as Valero and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. He also teaches strategic communications at Michigan State University and co-directs its PR study abroad program in London.
DeRondal Bevly
As Founder and Managing Director of RRS, a strategic communications boutique, DeRondal Bevly crafts strategies that enable brands to engage directly with customers, stakeholders, and new audiences. With over two decades of both professional and philanthropic experience, Bevly advises senior leaders on developing strategic messaging and collaborative communications that drive impactful initiatives.
A “big picture” thinker, Bevly leverages expertise in crisis and corporate communications, digital media, and community outreach to drive impactful outcomes. Beyond consulting, he leads a community leadership development program and serves on nonprofit boards, demonstrating a deep commitment to inclusive solutions that enhance reputations and advance organizational goals across Chicago’s public and private sectors.
Lauren Viera
Lauren Viera is a writer and communications consultant with 25 years of experience, focused on collaborations with branding and creative agencies. She has partnered with Leo Burnett, Google, Airbnb, Walgreens, Condé Nast, and the Chicago Tribune to craft strategy, copy, and storytelling that elevate brands. With roots in journalism and broad agency experience, Lauren turns complex ideas into clear narratives that engage audiences and drive results.
Lauren’s articles and essays have appeared in books and publications, including the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Magazine, and Time Out Chicago, where she was an editor, and the Chicago Tribune, where she was a staff writer.
Jared Gibson
Jared is the co-founder of Outworks, a marketing agency that helps executives and founders build influence on LinkedIn and other social channels. He's a seasoned sales and marketing leader with over 18 years of experience helping businesses scale, drive revenue, and establish dominant market positions.
With a track record of building and executing high-impact sales and marketing strategies at companies like Crain's Chicago Business and EmPower HR, Jared has helped companies generate millions in revenue, develop scalable outbound programs, and establish lasting brand authority. He has worked across industries, from HR and SaaS to media and consulting, leading revenue teams, launching digital strategies from scratch, and executing event-driven sales initiatives.
Collin Czarnecki
Collin Czarnecki is the founder of Noble, a boutique digital PR studio specializing in data-driven campaigns that earn national media coverage. With a background as a journalist for Gannett/USA Today Network and nearly a decade in digital PR, Collin approaches campaigns with a newsroom-first mindset rooted in news value, timing, and clarity. His work has helped brands land placements in outlets such as The New York Times, CNBC, Yahoo, ESPN, TODAY, and Entrepreneur.
Collin’s expertise lies in transforming complex topics into headlines the media wants to run, with specialties across verticals like small business, personal finance, food & beverage, travel, and healthcare.