Member Spotlight: Elisa Schmitz

Elisa Schmitz ’95 MS says that Northwestern played a big role in her life even before she attended the University. After spending part of her childhood in both Puerto Rico and Lebanon, Schmitz settled with her family in Evanston. Growing up near campus, she felt surrounded by the energy and vibrancy of Northwestern. Schmitz says, “Whether I was attending football games or walking along the campus lakefront, I loved being part of the Northwestern community.” Northwestern is also where Schmitz’s mother, Maria Elisa Laracuente-Ast, pursued her PhD in romance languages before having children, which has always held a special significance for Elisa.

Before choosing Northwestern for her master’s studies, Schmitz earned a degree in communications at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She landed a job in television operations at the Chicago Telemundo affiliate, allowing Schmitz to use her Spanish language skills. While researching ways to advance her career in media, she realized the next steps could start right in her own backyard. Schmitz decided to pursue a master’s degree in journalism at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, with a focus on reporting and writing, which set her on a life-changing professional path. Schmitz says, “At Medill, my classmates and I covered a range of stories that taught us the fundamentals. We learned how to find and research stories, conduct comprehensive interviews, present information in a variety of forms, and hold ourselves to high standards.” She continues, “And I fell in love with writing. I came to realize that in journalism, I had found my true professional passion.”

After graduating and starting her career as a journalist, Schmitz experienced another significant milestone—she was expecting her first child. “Trying to report stories and hit deadlines while battling morning sickness and other maladies I’d never experienced before was a new challenge,” Schmitz says. “That inspired me to launch my first entrepreneurial venture, a pregnancy and parenting magazine and website called iParenting.com.” Schmitz spent 11 years growing the venture into a highly regarded parenting site that was acquired by The Walt Disney Company. After the sale, Schmitz worked for Disney as director and executive editor of the Disney Family Group. Later, she launched her current media company, 30Seconds.com, in 2011. “30Seconds is a thriving digital media company and online community based on content that makes the world a happier, healthier, and more delicious place—30 seconds at a time,” Schmitz says.

While working on that endeavor, Schmitz authored a book about her journey titled Become the Fire: Transform Life’s Chaos into Business and Personal Success. She was inspired by her work on Northwestern’s Council of One Hundred (C100), a mentoring organization composed of successful female alumni who seek to connect with female and non-binary undergraduate seniors and recent graduates. Schmitz says, “At one of our on-campus mentoring events, I was hosting a table of female students and young alumnae. After listening to my story, the first question I got was, ‘How did you do it?’” She continues, “I talked about ideation, passion, hard work, perseverance, and resilience. But I realized that to really answer the question, I would have to put together a comprehensive, actionable roadmap. That’s how the seed for Become the Fire was planted.”

Schmitz is open to giving her time to any school or unit that asks. “I have been a mentor at Medill, The Garage (Northwestern’s student startup and entrepreneurial space), the McCormick School of Engineering, and the Kellogg School of Management. I’ve also served as a judge for entrepreneurship competitions at Kellogg and served as a guest lecturer at various schools.”

As a platinum-level NU Loyal member, Schmitz directs her giving to a variety of areas. In addition to Medill and C100, she and her husband, Dieter Schmitz ’84 JD, support Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. “Giving back financially as well as with my time helps me make more of an impact and in a variety of ways,” she says. Schmitz is passionate about philanthropy, as she recognizes how impactful her education has been. “Attending Northwestern was one of the foundational experiences of my life. Everything I have done along my professional journey, from iParenting to 30Seconds to Become the Fire, links back to my education and training at Northwestern,” she says. “It was at Medill that I deepened my passion for writing and honed the skill of content creation. I’ve been fortunate to combine that with my personal interests and create global communities. It has been the greatest professional gift, and for that I am grateful.”

She adds, “Knowing that you can have a hand in making your school even better for current and future generations is exciting and reassuring. We need Medill-trained journalists more than ever. I hope Northwestern will be on the leading edge of ensuring accuracy, credibility, and humanity in journalism, always.”