Michelle Mekky

Michelle Mekky is a veteran, award-winning broadcast journalist, public relations executive, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and Forbes blogger. She is founder and president of Mekky Media Relations, Inc., a boutique PR agency that has been widely recognized for its tremendous expansion in its first eight years and innovative work with clients ranging from startups to industry leaders in Chicago and coast to coast. Michelle started her career as a senior producer for Fox-TV in Chicago, then transitioned to PR and marketing, working at top agencies before starting her own company in 2016.

Mekky Media strategically partners with nonprofits, high-profile individuals and businesses representing technology, healthcare, restaurants, retail, fitness, financial, B2B and more. Michelle and her team of nearly 20 PR professionals help clients tell their stories to new audiences and fuel their growth, through services such as PR strategy, media relations, media training, social media strategy, integrated digital and PR programs, personal branding and internal communications. In 2021, Michelle doubled the size of her team and client roster and led the agency to record growth, with a 62-percent revenue gain over the previous year. Current clients include Red Bull, Abt Electronics, Giordano’s, Westfield Old Orchard, Phil Stefani Signature Restaurants, American Library Association and Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, to name a few.

Michelle and Mekky Media have received many national honors, including Gold and Silver Stevie Awards in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The agency also was named to Expertise PR’s list of Best Chicago PR Firms and received a PR News Top 100 Agency Elite Award and several Publicity Club of Chicago Gold/Silver Trumpet Awards, to name just some of the extensive recognition the agency has received in its first eight years. In addition, Michelle was named PRSA Chicago Skyline Awards 2023 Professional of the Year, Niles West High School’s 2022 Distinguished Alum, 2021 Ragan and PR Daily Communicator of the Year, a 2020 PR News Top Women in PR Honoree and a 2019 Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Entrepreneur. She also won the 2023 Daily Herald Entrepreneurial Excellence Award and a 2018 Bronze Stevie Award for Women in Business, in the Entrepreneur of the Year category.

Michelle is part of the prestigious International Public Relations Network (IPRN), Forbes Agency Council and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). She is a Forbes blogger and motivational speaker, sharing about leadership, her journey as an entrepreneur and more. Michelle is a member of the Strategic Advancement Committee for Start Early, a nonprofit that helps close the opportunity gap by advancing early learning and care for children. Michelle, who is a cancer survivor, supports the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition and serves on the board of Triage Cancer. As a leader, she is committed to mentorship and promoting a positive, healthy culture, planning innovative leadership and wellness events inspired by the agency’s core values, such as passion, commitment to excellence, trust, authenticity and teamwork. Michelle graduated from Northwestern University, with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the renowned Medill School of Journalism.