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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.
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.
Bonnie Gonzalez, Public Relations Specialist
Bonnie Gonzalez brings over 10 years of experience in marketing, public relations, event planning and production. She has worked with companies recognized for excellence in the technology, music, publishing and architecture/engineering industries.
Bonnie has extensive experience in the development and successful execution of strategic marketing plans and a proven track record of brand growth for businesses ranging from emerging local companies to national firms with significant industry presence. Her experience includes demand generation, strategic partnerships, public awareness, advertising and media planning.
Ms. Gonzalez holds a Bachelors degree in Communications from the University of Texas at Austin and has been actively involved with the Real Estate Council of Austin, the American Institute of Architects and the Society for Marketing Professional Services.
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.
Havilah Tower-Perkins, Public Relations Specialist
Havilah Tower-Perkins is a writer and public relations specialist whose diverse background, interests, and education culminate to provide expertise in a wide variety of industries. Havilah’s areas of expertise are writing, special event planning, and media relations.
Havilah knows Austin. She earned her Master’s degree in advertising/copywriting from the University of Texas at Austin as well as a BA in psychology. Following graduate school, Havilah served as the Media Relations Coordinator for the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Texas Council on Family Violence. There she coordinated statewide and national press conferences, including the first-ever bilingual press conference in South Texas. She handled special events working alongside Lifetime Television to coordinate a Stop Violence Against Women event featuring Hotline Celebrity spokesperson, Martina McBride, and longtime political supporters. Havilah’s extensive portfolio as a PR specialist, includes consulting with a wide variety of small businesses and non-profit organizations, including the coordination of a statewide media tour conducting interviews on healthy relationships and teenage dating violence in Texas through the “Know the Red Flags” campaign.
Havilah has a diversified writing portfolio that includes articles, press alerts and releases, speeches, talking points, newsletters, media training, web content, creative writing and songwriting.
Havilah has a personal interest in natural foods and music. Since Austin is the live music capital of the world, it is only fitting that Havilah was featured in the Austin Business Journal’s 2007 Book of Lists as a PR professional who is also a musician and songwriter. Her band, Havilah Tower & The Seekers, is a “classacoustical” rock trio that performs regularly around central Texas.
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.