Beth McRae,APR

Principal
beth@mcraeagency.com

Beth McRae, who earned her accreditation in public relations (APR), oversees The McRae Agency’s Phoenix and San Diego offices with 17 years in the public relations industry. 

Beth specializes in strategic planning; media, community and public relations; and marketing communications in various industries, including retail, consumer products, commercial and residential real estate, technology, hospitality, sporting, entertainment and education. 

She operated an office in San Francisco during the technology boom and subsequently opened one in Scottsdale, Ariz., where she works with a variety of clients, including Google.

Beth has a history of community involvement and board leadership.  She is a past president of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), San Diego County Chapter, a vice president of PRSA/San Francisco and treasurer currently of the PRSA/Phoenix.  She was chair of Tech 2001, PRSA’s national technology conference and has held a variety of leadership positions at the local, regional and national levels, including the North Pacific District of PRSA. 

Beth has received more than 45 awards locally and nationally for her public relations and marketing campaigns, including the 1995 Bank of America Enterprise Award.  She founded the PRSA/San Diego Chapter awards program, now in its 13th year.  She serves as a judge for PRSA’s national awards program, the Silver Anvils, and is a member of the Phoenix Chapter’s board of directors.

She was recognized in the San Diego Business Journal “Who’s Who in Business” special report and was a board member for numerous non-profit organizations over the years.  Beth is a graduate of LEAD, a leadership-training program, and is an active member of the Junior League.  She has worked with the Children's Services Bureau to help develop a marketing program to educate the public on child abuse.  She was one of the chairs for the Super Bowl fundraiser for Children’s Hospital, “Super Ball,” and is a graduate of Valley Leadership, a Phoenix-based leadership-training program.  She recently won the Community Megastar Award for excellence in community service.

She is a former board member of the Arizona Humane Society and HomeBase Youth Services where she spearheaded its young professional group, HomeBase Ambassadors.  She previously co-chaired the Heard Museum’s annual black-tie event and the Phoenix Museum of History gala and chaired the American Cancer Society’s Jewel Ball.  She and her family chaired the Symphony Black & White Gala, benefiting the Phoenix Symphony.  She serves on the Heart Ball committee (benefiting the American Heart Assoc.) and has been appointed to the Governor’s Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women.  She is a founder of Las Palomas, a women’s group that raises money for charities.

Previously, Beth worked as a public relations account manager at McQuerterGroup, where she oversaw marketing and public relations programs for several national clients, including new product launches.  She spent five years at Phillips-Ramsey Advertising and Public Relations (a division of McCann-Erickson Worldwide) managing various national and local accounts.  She spearheaded the multiple award-winning 40th Anniversary for WD-40 Company, which resulted in coverage in USA Today (cover of the Life section), The Tonight Show, CNN and Washington Post, among others.

Beth earned her public relations accreditation (APR) from PRSA in 1993.  She earned a bachelor of science in journalism, with an emphasis in public relations and advertising, and a bachelor of arts degree in marketing from Texas Christian University where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Sigma Pi.  She holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.