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Accolades PR is a strategic marketing public relations firm committed to gaining your company the recognition it deserves.
We work with companies to align their messaging and manage their corporate image. Our team works creatively to discover the best balance of public relations, advertising, and marketing strategies to gain visibility in the press and online. Whether your desire is regional or global exposure, our team can create a dynamic, and yet, practical strategy to increase market share.
Cynthia A. Baker, President and Founder
Cynthia A. Baker creates business-to-business public relations initiatives for small to mid-sized companies. She garners strategic media coverage for her clients by ensuring their value proposition reaches target audiences.
Cynthia founded Accolades Public Relations to be a progressive PR firm committed to being on the forefront of innovations in the public relations industry. The firm focuses on providing results for their clients in the form of standard media coverage which is leveraged further into online news. The Accolades team specializes in understanding how to blend traditional public relations and marketing communications with social media campaigns to maximize effectiveness for their clients. Accolades PR also provides core marketing solutions, including tactical internet marketing strategies designed to synch public relations initiatives to B2B agendas.
With experience serving Fortune 500 companies, Cynthia currently handles public relations campaigns for high-tech, real estate, education and business companies on both regional and national levels. The agency has served clients from the architecture, employer services, homebuilder, commercial real estate, interior design, management, and franchise sectors.
Cynthia is a co-founding member of the Austin Social Media Club. She is a member of the Austin Corporate Growth and Bootstrap organizations.
Mike Chapman, Public Affairs Strategist
Mike Chapman has over two decades of experience in public relations and public affairs at the federal, state and local levels. Joining the Capitol Hill staff of Congressman J.J. “Jake” Pickle immediately after college, he was mentored by one of the nation’s most successful statesmen. He also served as the legislative director for U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, as a federal lobbyist and strategist for the National Association of Realtors® and the American Medical Association in Washington, D.C., and as a legislative strategist for Texas State University and currently works with clients at the national, state and local levels.
In addition to his traditional public relations and public affairs expertise, Mike has integrated social and digital media into his regular client offerings. He is a founding member of the Austin Social Media Club, the international Social Media Club, and a number of Austin-based organizations with interests in online communications strategies and technologies. Mike is a frequent blogger and is very involved in many online communities.
Mike’s issue experience includes health care and medicine, health insurance reform, research and development, tax law, government regulation and contracting, commercial and residential real estate, public education, technology, agriculture, environmental regulation, small business, banking, securities, utilities and other economic issues.
Richard Cole, Public Relations Specialist
Richard Cole is founder and president of Richard Cole Communications, a business writing and online media agency serving clients in the U.S. and Europe. He offers more than 20 years of experience as an award-wining writer for B2B technology, financial services, healthcare, energy, and other industries.
In New York City, Richard was senior writer for the IBM account at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising. Since moving to Austin, he has provided a growing range of services as an independent writer, marketing consultant, trade magazine editor, and communications leader for several hi-tech companies. In addition, he has taught writing and marketing communications at the University of California at Berkeley, online at New York University, and at workshops across the country.
Kimberlie Dykeman, Emcee/Host & Multi-Media Consultant
Kimberlie Dykeman provides a powerhouse of exposure for her clients. With a colorful career path, rich in business development, multimedia creation, broadcasting, marketing and public relations, motivational communications and expert coaching, she offers a broad spectrum of skills for forwarding the image of her clients and their companies.
Her strengths suit her to expertly coordinate public relations campaigns, in particular, for real estate clients, corporate executives, authors, and thought leaders. She manages marketing, advertising, and media initiatives with attention to every detail and can further leverage these efforts into multi-platform PR, community networking, speaking opportunities, and radio and television exposure.
Kimberlie’s ultimate proficiency is providing non-exclusive contract talent as Expert Lifestyle News Correspondent, TV Personality and Host, and International Spokesperson for multimedia marketing campaigns, corporate communications, and interactive websites. Kimberlie is experienced at developing hosting/interviewing initiatives in such a way that the client’s unique value is highlighted and showcased to an even broader audience. Her production, scriptwriting, and voice over skills also benefit client promotional efforts across multiple platforms. She maintains production and media connections on all four coasts. Kimberlie graduated from Binghamton University of New York with a Liberal Arts degree in Literature and Rhetoric.
Shea Eddins, Public Relations Specialist – Dallas
A dynamic communicator and proven public relations expert, Shea Eddins, has lead many companies into the spotlight with her impactful campaign strategies.
Shea has over 25 years experience in public relations as a Dallas-based PR practitioner. She has worked with a broad spectrum of clients in Dallas, oil and gas clients in Houston, and technology clients from Austin. She has also served franchise organizations, restaurant chains, and small to mid-sized businesses on statewide, national, and international levels.
A true PR diva, Shea has been featured in USA Today, PR Week, and the Wall Street Journal as well as numerous other publications. She also served as the PR Director of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners).
Following attendance at San Jose State University in the Silicon Valley, and prior to her PR establishment in Dallas, she was an editor for the Johnson County newspapers in Kansas City.
Keith Elkins, Public Relations Specialist and Media Relations
Keith Elkins has spent more than 25 years as a working journalist, primarily in the trenches of the fast-paced world of television news anchor and reporting. He brings a wealth of experience and a unique communications perspective as someone who knows firsthand what it’s like to be on both sides of potential news-making events and situations.
Keith’s media assignments have provided him a front row seat to the flood waters of Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita, the legislative halls of power at the State Capitol and the day-to-day operations of almost all Texas state agencies and many of Central Texas’ businesses.
Keith is a veteran TV news journalist and has served as an anchor-reporter in Austin, San Antonio, Beaumont and Huntsville, Alabama, as well as providing communication freelance services to CNN, CBS, NBC and the FOX television networks.
Keith has also served as communications director for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and Texas Lottery Commission, worked as public relations director for a national video syndication company and served as a legislative assistant in the United States Senate. As a member of the Accolades PR team, Keith provides a full range of communications and public relations services for clients.
Monica Hampton, Public Relations Specialist
Monica Hampton made her official career jump into the PR realm when she joined the Accolades team in April of 2008 as a public relations specialist. She brings a wide array of business, marketing and event planning experience to her public relations work. Her strong organizational skills were honed in a corporate environment working with executive management teams. Monica owns the responsibility for managing and completing projects within deadlines, as well as her communication and media relations skills make her a strategic and valuable addition to the Accolades Team.
Originally from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, Monica has been in Austin for almost 18 years. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from St. Edward’s University in August of 2003 with a degree in Marketing, but soon discovered that PR was her passion. She worked for more than 11 years in the corporate process control industry, but relished her leadership roles with special events and project management. She now leverages these past professional experiences while taking an active role in the creative planning processes on behalf of her PR clients.
Monica has successfully managed several non-profit campaigns to achieve exceptional results in increased fundraising through social media campaigns, strategic communications strategies, and effective account management. She has grown online communities for her clients and brought media attention to their efforts, demonstrating her ability to blend social media skills with traditional PR.
Stephanie Johnson, Public Relations Specialist – Houston
Houston-based Stephanie Johnson handles media relations, crisis communications, internal communications, Web development, intranets and extranets and marketing communications for a variety of energy services and other clients in Texas and Louisiana. A graduate of the world’s oldest School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Johnson is a former newspaper reporter who understands how to shape public perception using tactics ranging from “old-fashioned” press releases and relationships with reporters to sophisticated marketing materials and the best of social media. Johnson has worked with most of the major energy companies, including Shell, Amoco, BP, and Marathon, as well as many energy services companies. Two years ago, she helped BP build, write, and launch its first U.S. website, www.bp/us.com.
Beth Ranson, Public Relations Specialist
Full of energy and always with a positive mental attitude, Beth Ranson has an eye for developing stories and pitching stories that the media finds appealing. Beth’s expertise lies in the areas of major event planning; managing local, national and international media relations; speech writing and niche marketing.
Previously, Beth has been a Public Relations Specialist for the United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, Gameplan Marketing and Event, and Emmis Radio Group.
Beth began her media career as a Producer and Reporter for Fox News at Ten in Richmond, Virginia. From this experience, Beth gained knowledge of what stories are of interest to the media and of all the technical aspects of the media, such as video-editing and camera operation.
Finally, Beth has extensive experience with interactive marketing, to include Search Engine Optimization, Analytics (i.e. Hitbox, Coremetrics, Google Analytics), project management of Web design and development, as well as creation of Web content. Beth’s interactive clients include LG Electronics and Inc-Marketing.
You can also find her sometimes on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Mardi Wareham, Public Relations Specialist
Mardi Wareham is a professional communications consultant, writer, and editor who offers a wide range of services and enthusiastic collaboration in all facets of public relations and communications.
Originally from southern Ontario in Canada, Mardi has an honors degree in journalism and began her career as a reporter at The London Free Press in London, Canada. She has worked for more than 25 years in the corporate, government, and educational arenas as a freelancer and a full-time employee. She combines editorial skills with strategic thinking to deliver words that sing and ideas that soar.