Rachel Noerdlinger

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.[1] She served as chief of staff to New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray.[2] After leaving public service, Noerdlinger became a managing director at Mercury Public Affairs.[3]

Rachel Noerdlinger
Born (1970-11-14) November 14, 1970
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Alma materMills College (B.A., 1992)
Known forPublic relations

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".[4][5] Noerdlinger later stated that after she became pregnant with her son, Khari, her views on transracial adoption changed.[6] Noerdlinger is a graduate of Mills College, an all-women's college in Oakland, California.[6]

Career

A publicist, Noerdlinger is the President of Noerdlinger Media.[7] She interned at the Terrie Williams Agency, a preeminent African-American public relations firm.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10][11]

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.[12] Noerdlinger worked on many high-profile criminal justice reform cases including the case of Eric Garner in New York and Stephon Clark in Sacramento.[13]

After serving as Chief of Staff to New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray, Noerdlinger became a Managing Director at Mercury Public Affairs.[14]

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.[15] Her annual salary was $170,000.[16]

Noerdlinger's appointment led to controversy: Noerdlinger was criticized for not disclosing in a background questionnaire that she lived with her boyfriend, Hassaun McFarlane,[17] who has an extensive criminal record that includes guilty pleas for manslaughter and drug trafficking.[18] Noerdlinger was not disciplined for this omission, as the Department of Investigation "found no evidence of intent to deceive the Mayor or City Hall."[19] Reports also indicated that Noerdlinger's home in Edgewater, New Jersey had a $28,190 federal tax lien placed on it in 2011.[20] 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.[21]

De Blasio defended Noerdlinger, comparing media attacks on her to McCarthyism and asserting that she was being treated unfairly.[22] De Blasio added that he had never questioned Noerdlinger's judgment.[23]

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.[22] She stepped down later that month.[14] 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.[24]

References
  1. Richardson, Clem. "Rachel Noerdlinger helps sharpen image of the Rev. Al Sharpton - NY Daily News". Nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  2. MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM and NIKITA STEWART (November 17, 2014). "Rachel Noerdlinger, a Top City Hall Aide, Takes a Leave of Absence". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  3. "Rachel Noerdlinger - Mercury". Mercuryllc.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  4. Noerdlinger, Rachel (June 30, 1996). "A Look at ...Interracial Adoption: A Last Resort". Washington Post. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  5. White Mama, Black Baby, Essence.com; accessed February 29, 2016.
  6. Noerdlinger, Rachel (June 2007). "I changed my mind about transracial adoption". New York Amsterdam News. 98 (27): 13.
  7. "Let's bury the word 'diversity' and listen to communities of color before a crisis hits". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  8. Michael Slackman (December 14, 2004). "Getting to Know the Color of Her Skin". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  9. Slackman, Michael. "Getting to Know the Color of Her Skin". Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  10. "Political Communications 101". The Broad Room. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  11. Richardson, Clem. "Rachel Noerdlinger helps sharpen image of the Rev. Al Sharpton - NY Daily News". Nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  12. "At City Hall, Backstage Player Is Cast in Main Stage Uproar". The New York Times. October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  13. "Sacramento simmers over police killing of unarmed man". Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  14. "How Rachel Noerdlinger bounced back after a right-wing media blitz targeted her family - theGrio". Thegrio.com. 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  15. "Chirlane McCray and the Limits of First-Ladyship". Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  16. Stewart, Nikita (9 May 2014). "The Women of New York's City Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  17. Grynbaum, Michael M.; Stewart, Nikita; Rashbaum, William K. (4 October 2014). "At City Hall, Backstage Player Is Cast in Main Stage Uproar". The New York Times. Retrieved February 29, 2016. 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.
  18. James Fanelli (September 25, 2014). "Senior De Blasio Aide Dates Convicted Killer Who Calls Police 'Pigs'". DNAInfo.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  19. Jillian Jorgensen (July 27, 2018). "No Punishment For Noerdlinger For Omitting Ex-Con Boyfriend From Background Check". Observer.com. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  20. "Rachel Noerdlinger's Home Was Hit With $28K Federal Tax Lien". 2 October 2014. Retrieved February 29, 2016. 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.
  21. Rachel Noerdlinger owes city $876 in unpaid parking tickets, Nydailynews.com; accessed May 30, 2016.
  22. "Rachel Noerdlinger, embattled aide to NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray, leaves office as mayor slams 'repulsive' scrutiny by media". Nydailynews.com. Retrieved February 29, 2016. 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.
  23. Fermino, Erin Durkin, Jennifer. "Rachel Noerdlinger supporters say embattled City Hall aide is 'witch hunt' victim". Nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. Goldmacher, Shane (20 October 2017). "In New York, an Influential First Lady Redefines the Position". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
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