Rachel Noerdlinger
{{Short description|American business executive}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rachel Noerdlinger
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|11|14}}
| birth_place = Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
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| known = Public relations
| alma_mater = Mills College (B.A., 1992)
}}
Rachel Noerdlinger (born November 14, 1970) is an American publicist and longtime communications advisor to National Action Network and national civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rachel-noerdlinger-helps-sharpen-image-rev-al-sharpton-article-1.436629|title=Rachel Noerdlinger helps sharpen image of the Rev. Al Sharpton - NY Daily News|last=Richardson|first=Clem|website=Nydailynews.com|access-date=2018-07-31|language=en-US}} She served as chief of staff to New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray.{{cite news|author=MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM and NIKITA STEWART|title=Rachel Noerdlinger, a Top City Hall Aide, Takes a Leave of Absence|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 17, 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/nyregion/rachel-noerdlinger-top-mayoral-aide-to-take-a-leave-of-absence.html?_r=0|accessdate=November 18, 2014}} After leaving public service, Noerdlinger became a managing director at Mercury Public Affairs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mercuryllc.com/experts/rachel-noerdlinger|title=Rachel Noerdlinger - Mercury|website=Mercuryllc.com|access-date=2018-07-31}}
Education and family
Rachel Noerdlinger is the adopted daughter of Peter and Judy Noerdlinger. Noerdlinger is black, and her parents are white. In 1996, Noerdlinger wrote a Washington Post op-ed arguing that black adoptees should be placed with white families only "as a last resort".{{Cite news |last=Noerdlinger |first=Rachel |date=June 30, 1996 |title=A Look at ...Interracial Adoption: A Last Resort |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1996/06/30/a-look-atinterracial-adoption-a-last-resort/b66764be-b359-4d87-86b0-0a9e3fc01e9c/ |access-date=April 29, 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post}}[http://www.essence.com/2012/09/17/white-mama-black-baby White Mama, Black Baby], Essence.com; accessed February 29, 2016. Noerdlinger later stated that after she became pregnant with her son, Khari, her views on transracial adoption changed.{{cite journal |last1=Noerdlinger |first1=Rachel |title=I changed my mind about transracial adoption |journal=New York Amsterdam News |volume=98 |issue=27 |date=June 2007 |page=13 }} Noerdlinger is a graduate of Mills College, an all-women's college in Oakland, California.
Career
A publicist, Noerdlinger is the President of Noerdlinger Media.{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/06/18/bury-word-diversity-listen-before-crisis-hits-column/699699002|title=Let's bury the word 'diversity' and listen to communities of color before a crisis hits|work=USA TODAY|access-date=2018-07-31}} She interned at The Terrie Williams Agency, a preeminent African-American public relations firm.{{cite news|author=Michael Slackman|title=Getting to Know the Color of Her Skin|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 14, 2004|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/14/nyregion/14profile.html|accessdate=November 18, 2014}} While interning at the Terrie Williams Agency, Noerdlinger worked with attorney Johnnie Cochran, whom she later served as a public relations advisor. She developed a strong relationship with one of Cochran's clients, Al Sharpton. Her PR firm worked on the Sean Bell case, the Jena Six case, and the Megan Williams case. She was Press Secretary for Sharpton's 2004 United States Democratic Presidential run. She has had a weekly segment on Sharpton's radio show.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/14/nyregion/getting-to-know-the-color-of-her-skin.html|title=Getting to Know the Color of Her Skin|last=Slackman|first=Michael|work=The New York Times |date=14 December 2004 |access-date=August 8, 2018}} She has been called "the public relations force behind Rev. Al Sharpton and National Action Network"; she has advised Sharpton and the Network on communications since the late 1990s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebroadroomnyc.com/political-comms-101|title=Political Communications 101|website=The Broad Room|access-date=2018-07-31}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rachel-noerdlinger-helps-sharpen-image-rev-al-sharpton-article-1.436629|title=Rachel Noerdlinger helps sharpen image of the Rev. Al Sharpton - NY Daily News|last=Richardson|first=Clem|website=Nydailynews.com|access-date=2018-07-31}}
Noerdlinger Media's clients also include or have included The Cochran Firm; Paul B. Weitz and Associates; Lifflander and Reich, LLP; Rubenstein and Rynecki; and Sunshine Sachs Public Relations.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/nyregion/hired-for-behind-the-scenes-skill-city-hall-aide-rachel-noerdlinger-is-now-front-and-center.html|title=At City Hall, Backstage Player Is Cast in Main Stage Uproar|date=October 4, 2014|work=The New York Times|accessdate=February 3, 2016}} Noerdlinger worked on many high-profile criminal justice reform cases including the case of Eric Garner in New York and Stephon Clark in Sacramento.{{Cite news|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/sacramento-simmers-over-police-killing-unarmed-man-014045441.html|title=Sacramento simmers over police killing of unarmed man|access-date=2018-07-31}}
After serving as Chief of Staff to New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray, Noerdlinger became a Managing Director at Mercury Public Affairs.{{Cite news|url=https://thegrio.com/2015/01/12/rachel-noerdlinger-media/|title=How Rachel Noerdlinger bounced back after a right-wing media blitz targeted her family - theGrio|date=2015-01-12|website=Thegrio.com|access-date=2018-07-31}}
=Chief of Staff to Chirlane McCray=
On January 20, 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Noerdlinger as Chief of Staff to New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray, a position that had not existed previously.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/magazine/chirlane-mccray-and-the-limits-of-first-ladyship.html|title=Chirlane McCray and the Limits of First-Ladyship|work=The New York Times |date=9 February 2016 |access-date=2018-07-31 |last1=Ghansah |first1=Rachel Kaadzi }} Her annual salary was $170,000.{{cite news|title=The Women of New York's City Hall|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/nyregion/the-women-of-new-yorks-city-hall.html?gwh=F0950DAFD64982E56E71E91DA98BA890&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now|newspaper=The New York Times|date = 9 May 2014|accessdate=8 August 2018|last1 = Stewart|first1 = Nikita}}
Noerdlinger's appointment led to controversy: Noerdlinger was criticized for not disclosing in a background questionnaire that she lived with her boyfriend, Hassaun McFarlane,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/nyregion/hired-for-behind-the-scenes-skill-city-hall-aide-rachel-noerdlinger-is-now-front-and-center.html|title=At City Hall, Backstage Player Is Cast in Main Stage Uproar|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 October 2014|quote=City investigators questioned Ms. Noerdlinger for several hours this week after learning that she had failed to disclose on a background questionnaire that she lived with a boyfriend, Hassaun McFarlane, who had an extensive criminal record.|accessdate=February 29, 2016|last1=Grynbaum|first1=Michael M.|last2=Stewart|first2=Nikita|last3=Rashbaum|first3=William K.}} who has an extensive criminal record that includes guilty pleas for manslaughter and drug trafficking.{{cite news|author=James Fanelli|title=Senior De Blasio Aide Dates Convicted Killer Who Calls Police 'Pigs'|work=DNAInfo.com|date=September 25, 2014|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140925/civic-center/senior-de-blasio-aide-dates-convicted-killer-who-calls-police-pigs|accessdate=July 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728071351/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140925/civic-center/senior-de-blasio-aide-dates-convicted-killer-who-calls-police-pigs/|archive-date=July 28, 2018|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Noerdlinger was not disciplined for this omission, as the Department of Investigation "found no evidence of intent to deceive the Mayor or City Hall."{{cite web|url=http://observer.com/2014/10/no-punishment-for-noerdlinger-after-omitting-ex-con-boyfriend-from-background-check/|title=No Punishment For Noerdlinger For Omitting Ex-Con Boyfriend From Background Check|author=Jillian Jorgensen|work=Observer.com|date=July 27, 2018|accessdate=February 29, 2016}} Reports also indicated that Noerdlinger's home in Edgewater, New Jersey had a $28,190 federal tax lien placed on it in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://observer.com/2014/10/rachel-noerdlingers-home-was-hit-with-28k-federal-tax-lien|title=Rachel Noerdlinger's Home Was Hit With $28K Federal Tax Lien|website=The New York Observer |date=2 October 2014|quote=Ms. Noerdlinger, chief of staff to Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray, had a $28,190 federal tax lien placed on her Edgewater, New Jersey home in 2011, according to public records.|accessdate=February 29, 2016}} Noerdlinger had an outstanding E-ZPass bill of more than $7,000 for unpaid tolls and related fees on two license plates, but was paying those debts through a payment plan.[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/mayoral-aide-rachel-noerdlinger-owes-city-876-unpaid-parking-tix-report-article-1.1973890 Rachel Noerdlinger owes city $876 in unpaid parking tickets], Nydailynews.com; accessed May 30, 2016.
De Blasio defended Noerdlinger, comparing media attacks on her to McCarthyism and asserting that she was being treated unfairly. De Blasio added that he had never questioned Noerdlinger's judgment.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rachel-noerdlinger-supporters-witch-hunt-victim-article-1.1976097|title=Rachel Noerdlinger supporters say embattled City Hall aide is 'witch hunt' victim|last=Fermino|first=Erin Durkin, Jennifer|website=Nydailynews.com|access-date=2018-07-31}}
On November 18, 2014, a few days after her son had been arrested for trespassing, Noerdlinger took an unpaid leave of absence from her position at City Hall.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/city-hall-aide-rachel-noerdlinger-unpaid-leave-article-1.2013437|title=Rachel Noerdlinger, embattled aide to NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray, leaves office as mayor slams 'repulsive' scrutiny by media|quote=Khari Noerdlinger was arrested on a charge of criminal trespassing after he was found in the vestibule of a building in Washington Heights. The teen and three friends — all of them from New Jersey — were drinking and smoking, neighbors said. Two of Khari's's friends had pot on them, cops said, but Khari did not.|website=Nydailynews.com|date=18 November 2014 |accessdate=February 29, 2016}} She stepped down later that month. In December 2014, McCray replaced Noerdlinger with Roxanne John, a longtime family friend, at a salary of $200,000. McCray also appointed former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official Jackie Bray as deputy chief of staff (a position which had not previously existed) at a salary of $125,000.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/nyregion/chirlane-mccray-first-lady-de-blasio.html|title=In New York, an Influential First Lady Redefines the Position|first=Shane|last=Goldmacher|newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 October 2017|accessdate=8 August 2018}}
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Businesspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico
Category:Businesspeople from New York City
Category:American public relations people
Category:American women in business
Category:People from Edgewater, New Jersey
Category:21st-century African-American businesspeople
Category:21st-century African-American women
Category:20th-century African-American businesspeople