Fun Fact: Michele is a mom to three daughters. Two of her girls, Morgan and Hannah, have started their own nonprofits, Girl Power Grants and BabyIn BabyOut.
Michele Rhudy needs work to be fun.
No really, it’s a requirement. Michele loves to laugh and is proud to say that her career — like her life — has never been boring.
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As Rhudy & Co.’s founding employee in 2003, Michele once dreamed of building an agency where smart people could do excellent work and enjoy it: a place short on bureaucracy and tall on big ideas and positive energy. These many years later, that dream has more than come true.
Today, Rhudy & Co. is a corporate communications firm with niche expertise in internal communications. Michele believes fiercely in the power of employee engagement and internal communications to positively affect business results. Her experience includes developing and leading programs that drive the overall employee experience, particularly through change.
Michele spends her days leading the account teams that serve some of the Fortune 500’s leading companies. In her role, she oversees two of the firm’s four practice areas and half of its associates: Strategy & Planning and Video Production. She is very proud of the talented team she has assembled into Virginia’s largest corporate communications firm.
Prior to founding Rhudy & Co., Michele spent nine years at Carter Ryley Thomas PR (now Padilla), ultimately serving as a VP, Corporate Practice.
In 2023, the YWCA of Greater Richmond recognized Michele as one of its Outstanding Women of the Year Honorees.
Serving the community is one of Michele’s deep passions. Her career has included many Board roles, including Impact 100, and thousands of volunteer hours for more than a dozen non-profits. In 2015, her then 13 year-old daughter Morgan launched her own non-profit, Girl Power Grants. In 2018, her then 12-year-old daughter Hannah launched BabyIn BabyOut to help prevent pediatric vehicular stroke.
While work is certainly important, Michele’s leading passion is her three daughters who delight her heart with their deep interest in community service, musical and artistic performance, and leadership activities.