Michael E. Lewellen, ASU Graduate
Michael E. Lewellen, a 1983 graduate or Arkansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism who went on to build a successful, award-winning career with such iconic brands as NIKE, Turner Sports, Fox Sports Net, Black Entertainment Television and NBC Universal, just to name a few, visited ASU Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 26-27, as part of the Dr. Joel Gambill Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series.
During his visit, Lewellen spoke to several classes and visit with students and faculty in the Department of Journalism.
Lewellen’s career is in its 29th year of noted expertise in media strategies, reputation management, sports and entertainment publicity, public affairs, crisis management and brand communications.
His ability as a communications strategist and spokesperson has landed him appearances on CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, National Public Radio, American Urban Radio Network, ABC, CBS and a host of other national, regional and local media outlets.
From September 2007 through 2009, Lewellen served as Vice President of Public Relations at Universal Orlando Resort, a theme park business venture for NBC Universal, General Electric and Blackstone Group, where he supervised media communications, theme park and attractions publicity and crisis management. After leaving Universal Orlando, Lewellen stepped in as acting chief executive officer of the Central Florida Urban League, the region’s leading civil rights and economic equality agency.
He not only solidified the existence of this 34-year-old affiliate of that National Urban League, he led a highly-publicized national search for a permanent CEO – all while simultaneously serving as chairman of the organization’s board of directors. With a new CEO for the Central Florida Urban League now in place, Lewellen has settled back into his chairman’s role and is managing a growing public relations and media consultancy business – LewCom Strategies.
Prior to joining Universal Orlando, Lewellen served for seven years as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications for Viacom, Inc. subsidiary Black Entertainment Television (BET) at its corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C. While at BET, Lewellen managed communications for BET’s multiple cable television networks, feature film, wireless content, radio, home entertainment, animation, international and Internet interests. Before joining BET in 1999, Lewellen was Vice President of Media Relations for FOX Sports Network in New York and Los Angeles where he directed media relations and publicity for FOX Sports Net and its 22 regional cable sports networks for national, regional and local sports programming.
Before his arrival at FOX Sports in 1998, he served as Director of Public Relations for Turner Sports in Atlanta, specifically in charge of the Goodwill Games – an international multi-sport event staged in New York City and featuring 1,500 Olympic-level competitors from more than 60 countries, and covered by more than 1,000 journalists from around the world. Lewellen also held a variety of public relations, strategic planning and product line management positions during a five-year span at NIKE, Inc.’s world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. In addition, Lewellen’s career includes one year as North America Communications Director for Amsterdam-based ING Group and six years in multiple public relations roles for telecommunications giant SBC Communications (now AT&T) and its regional subsidiary Southwestern Bell.
A native of Jonesboro.
Lewellen is an internationally accredited public relations practitioner through the Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators. In 2009, the 58th Annual Southern Regional Press Institute at Savannah State University in Savannah, Ga., bestowed upon Lewellen the Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award for Meritorious Service in Mass Communications.
The National Black Public Relations Society honored Lewellen in 2005 with its highest honor – the Founders Award – for his achievements in the public relations profession. PR WEEK Magazine has recognized Lewellen multiple times as one of the country’s top African-Americans in the field of public relations – first in 1999 and twice in 2003, including a spot on the coveted “In-House A-List” of the country’s best communications executives at major corporations.
Along with the Urban League, Lewellen serves on the board of the Garden Theatre performing arts center in Winter Garden, Fla. He’s a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, National Black Public Relations Society, International Association of Business Communicators, Public Relations Society of America, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the United States Professional Tennis Association.
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