Judy Smith
Crisis Management Expert, Real Life Inspiration for the Hit ABC Drama Scandal
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TRAVELS FROM: California
The real-life inspiration behind ABC's hit political thriller series Scandal, Judy Smith is the U.S.'s crisis management expert. As the founder and president of Smith & Company, Judy Smith is a leading strategic and crisis communications firm, she uniquely combines her communication skills, media savvy, and legal and political acumen to serve clients around the world. Smith honed her skills through her experiences with some of the most historic and sensational events of our time. She has become the go-to person for corporations, politicians, and celebrities seeking counsel in times of crisis. Smith is the author of Good Self, Bad Self: Transforming Your Worst Qualities into Your Biggest Assets and her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, National Journal, New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fortune. She frequently appears on major television networks such as CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, NBC, and ABC.
Judy A. Smith is the founder and President of Smith & Company, a leading strategic advisory firm with offices in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New York. Over the last 25 years, Ms. Smith has brought her unique combination of communication skills, media savvy, legal and political acumen to clients facing a wide array of issues and challenges throughout the United States and abroad.
Ms. Smith honed her skills through her experiences with some of the most historic and sensational events of our time, including the Iran Contra investigation, the prosecution of former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, the 1991 Gulf War, the Los Angeles riots, the President Clinton scandal involving Monica Lewinsky, the congressional inquiry of Enron, the General Petraeus CIA scandal and the Sony Corporation hacking crisis.
Perhaps best known in media circles for her Reputation Fixer™ expertise and advice, Ms. Smith has served as a consultant for a host of high profile, celebrity and entertainment clients over the course of her career including, but not limited to, Monica Lewinsky, Senator Craig from Idaho, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., actor Wesley Snipes and the family of Chandra Levy. To retain her Reputation Fixer™ counsel and benefit from her services, please complete the request form available via the “Contact” button above.
As a result of her wide ranging and ground breaking career, Shonda Rhimes, creator of ABC’s hit television dramas Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, developed a television drama about the world of crisis management inspired by Ms. Smith. The series entitled, Scandal, revolves around the life and work of a professional fixer. Ms. Smith serves as Co- Executive Producer of the project and provides insight and technical expertise on crisis management issues.
Ms. Smith is the author of the book, Good Self, Bad Self, published by Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. She has received numerous communications and leadership awards and is active in community service.
In addition to her work as a communications advisor during high profile engagements, Ms. Smith also serves as a counselor to Fortune 500 corporations and has provided strategic advice on a variety of corporate communications issues such as mergers and acquisitions, product recalls, intellectual property litigation, corporate positioning, diversity and other challenges. She has assisted leading companies such as BellSouth, Union Pacific, Nextel, United Healthcare, Americhoice, Wal-Mart, Radio-One Inc., Waste Management Corporation, and American International Group, Inc. (AIG) on a range of corporate, investor, and public relations matters.
Prior to founding Smith & Company, Ms. Smith served as Special Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary to President George H. W. Bush. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations from Boston University and graduated from the American University Washington College of Law. Ms. Smith has been featured in numerous national publications including: the Washington Post, National Journal, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Fast Company and writes on current events for the Huffington Post and the Daily Beast. Smith is an experienced and sought after commentator as a crisis management expert. She frequently appears on major television networks such as CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, NBC, ABC, and CBS to offer commentary on topical issues of the day. Ms. Smith also lectures on crisis management before corporate boards, academic institutions, and other professional groups.
Ms. Smith honed her skills through her experiences with some of the most historic and sensational events of our time, including the Iran Contra investigation, the prosecution of former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, the 1991 Gulf War, the Los Angeles riots, the President Clinton scandal involving Monica Lewinsky, the congressional inquiry of Enron, the General Petraeus CIA scandal and the Sony Corporation hacking crisis.
Perhaps best known in media circles for her Reputation Fixer™ expertise and advice, Ms. Smith has served as a consultant for a host of high profile, celebrity and entertainment clients over the course of her career including, but not limited to, Monica Lewinsky, Senator Craig from Idaho, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., actor Wesley Snipes and the family of Chandra Levy. To retain her Reputation Fixer™ counsel and benefit from her services, please complete the request form available via the “Contact” button above.
As a result of her wide ranging and ground breaking career, Shonda Rhimes, creator of ABC’s hit television dramas Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, developed a television drama about the world of crisis management inspired by Ms. Smith. The series entitled, Scandal, revolves around the life and work of a professional fixer. Ms. Smith serves as Co- Executive Producer of the project and provides insight and technical expertise on crisis management issues.
Ms. Smith is the author of the book, Good Self, Bad Self, published by Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. She has received numerous communications and leadership awards and is active in community service.
In addition to her work as a communications advisor during high profile engagements, Ms. Smith also serves as a counselor to Fortune 500 corporations and has provided strategic advice on a variety of corporate communications issues such as mergers and acquisitions, product recalls, intellectual property litigation, corporate positioning, diversity and other challenges. She has assisted leading companies such as BellSouth, Union Pacific, Nextel, United Healthcare, Americhoice, Wal-Mart, Radio-One Inc., Waste Management Corporation, and American International Group, Inc. (AIG) on a range of corporate, investor, and public relations matters.
Prior to founding Smith & Company, Ms. Smith served as Special Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary to President George H. W. Bush. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations from Boston University and graduated from the American University Washington College of Law. Ms. Smith has been featured in numerous national publications including: the Washington Post, National Journal, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Fast Company and writes on current events for the Huffington Post and the Daily Beast. Smith is an experienced and sought after commentator as a crisis management expert. She frequently appears on major television networks such as CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, NBC, ABC, and CBS to offer commentary on topical issues of the day. Ms. Smith also lectures on crisis management before corporate boards, academic institutions, and other professional groups.
How to Protect Your Company’s Brand: Preventing & Prevailing During a Crisis
- Leading Through Crisis: What Every Leader Should Know
- Surviving & Thriving in an Era of Perpetual Crisis
The instant and global nature of the Information Age has made the ability to navigate crises of all stripes a critical component of an organization's success. Due to perpetual 24/7 news cycles and ever-expanding digital media platforms, it is harder than ever to successfully communicate a message or shape public opinion. In this presentation, speaker Judy Smith - one of the nation's top crisis managers - outlines the best practices in crisis management she has gleaned over 25 years of experience on the frontlines of many of the most high-profile crises and scandals around the world. - Good Self, Bad Self: Transforming Your Worst Qualities into Your Biggest Assets
Whether the problem is debt, infidelity, indiscretion, or merely an embarrassing email sent to the wrong reader, we have all found ourselves in bad situations of our own making. And whether that puts you in a delicate position or a full-blown crisis, it can sometimes feel as if there is no way out. Enter Judy Smith, America's #1 crisis management expert. In "Good Self, Bad Self," based on her book by the same name, Smith shares her methods, gleaned from years of professional experience, for smoothing over a bad situation while providing the tools to prevent similar incidents from ever happening again.
Exploring the underlying factors of some very public and often unpleasant scandals, Smith shows how different situations could have been prevented. As she shares her method of repairing the damage that these situations can cause, Smith also explains what we can all be doing in our own lives to prevent a crisis from getting started.
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