Michelle Kucera

Michelle Kucera is a tested public affairs and communications counselor with two decades of experience advising elected officials, corporate executives, non-profit leaders and political candidates. An expert at understanding how to translate complicated public policy issues and influence public opinion, Michelle combines political knowledge, strategic planning and forward-thinking to bring clients comprehensive and integrated communications, media outreach and public engagement strategies. 

She is an expert at message placement, positioning, stakeholder relations and crisis communications, and has been at the center of several high-profile efforts to elevate and earn support for some of the country’s leading non-profit organizations and companies, including Chicago-based Big Ten Network and its partners Fox Sports and the Big Ten Conference where she led public affairs teams in 11 states during the pre-launch effort to gain carriage by major television providers and hundreds of cable systems. The network now boasts 60 million U.S. subscribers.  

Michelle has partnered with national, state and local entities representing a wide range of topics and interests including: auto, cable TV, defense, energy and restaurant industries; multi-cultural coalitions and women’s health groups; education and tax policy organizations; officeholders, political candidates and committees; authors and international speakers; think tank and philanthropic foundations.

Her experience also extends to planning and executing events to support client initiatives -- from book signings and stakeholder forums, U.S. presidential campaign and official events and multi-city announcement tours and national speaking engagements.

Before serving as a public affairs and communications consultant, Michelle was a Principal at the Dewey Square Group, Press Secretary for Second Lady of the United States Tipper Gore and the Gore family. She has served as a press secretary and media contact for two Democratic National Conventions and was on the ground in Broward and Miami-Dade counties managing requests and interviews from media outlets around the globe during the contentious 2000 Florida election recount.

Michelle has been the Communications Director for gubernatorial campaigns in Florida and Texas and Deputy Press Secretary for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) where she oversaw media relations for all Midwest and Western states. She also served as Director of Communications for Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan where she executed the public relations and outreach campaign that resulted in passage of meaningful property tax relief legislation in Springfield.