George Sells                                                         Communications and Marketing Leader

840 N. Kirkwood Rd.  St. Louis, MO  63122                                                                                             cell 314-610-3335 ∙ georgesells4@gmail.com

Experienced communications pro with high level background in strategic communications and marketing, media relations, crisis communications, TV news and digital production. | Experienced in managing both content and budget for multifaceted marketing campaigns. | High profile crisis communication and messaging experience leading a large school district’s efforts and in the office of St. Louis’ top prosecutor. | Well versed in preparing executives for high visibility media interviews.| Emmy award winning storyteller| Media veteran with ability to “speak the language” of news managers and gatekeepers

Member, Missouri and Nationals School PR Associations, and Producers Guild of America

Experience

Saint Louis Public Schools                                                                                                                                                                    2021-2024

Director of Communications and Marketing

·       Spearheaded messaging, communications strategy, media relations, brand management, marketing and advertising for 62 schools in this major urban school district.

·       Successfully oversee a $600,000 annual advertising budget producing material focused on student recruitment and retention, employee recruitment, and district image. 

·       Oversaw massive increase in content creation and a culture of “telling our own story” for Saint Louis Public Schools.

·       Leader of a staff of “creatives” handling internal communications, graphic design, video production, social media and brand management.  This includes directing the process in developing multi-platform advertising campaigns for Saint Louis Public Schools.

·       Presided over development of in-house “boutique” agency which internally produces all district advertising, including television, radio, print, outdoor, and digital.  This approach saves the District thousands of dollars per year.

·       Handled media in numerous crisis communications situations including the 2022 mass shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience and 2024 upheaval involving removal of the superintendent and other leadership. 

·       Developed media strategy for challenging situations including a COVID vaccine mandate for staff in 2021, the ongoing transportation crisis impacting school districts nationwide, and the introduction of our new superintendent.

·       Led informational side of the Prop S bond issue campaign that passed with an unprecedented 87% of the vote in the City of St. Louis. 

·       Directed large events including joint visit of U.S. Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Services, visit of Missouri Governor, and organization of a gathering of hundreds of staff members hosted by Hollywood actor William Stanford Davis.

·       Skilled at “bridging the gap” that sometimes exists between communications professionals and educators.  Instrumental in efforts to “break down silos” in the organization.

·       Work with external district partners to leverage mutually beneficial events and storytelling.

·       Presented to national conferences including the National School Public Relations Association and the Council for Great City schools on crisis communication.

George Sells Media  St. Louis, MO                                                                                                                                                  2017-Present

Founder/Owner

·       Providing clients high level consultation on media relations, communications strategy, crisis communications and overall organizational efficiency.

·       Media relations services, earning coverage, particularly for tech focused startups and high-profile call to action campaigns.

·       Media training for executives

·       Social Media consulting

·       Successful video messaging and production for political campaigns, including a resounding victory in Kirkwood School District bond campaign.

·       Digital video storytelling and production for a cross-section of other clients looking for an engaging approach to online and social media messaging and storytelling.

·       Virtual reality/360 production and storytelling, both journalistic and branded content.

·       Clients include the St. Louis Community Foundation, SMJ Communications, Kirkwood School District, Washington University, KMOX, GMMB Marketing, The Missouri Foundation for Health, Hurtt Manufacturing,  the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, Jim Butler Auto Group,  StoryUP VR, HEC-TV, VoiceXP , and the Emergency Nurses Association.

MANDT VR  Los Angeles, CA                                                                                                                                               

General Manager/Executive Producer of News and Documentary Content                                                        2016-2017

·       In charge of overseeing development and execution of news and documentary content.

·       Responsible for the development of storytelling “style” for news in the virtual reality format.

·       Member of leadership team guiding the overall course for MANDT VR in the fast-growing world of virtual reality.

·       Shooting, editing, writing, and producing stories as part of effort to develop “best practices” for VR news.

·       Earned company’s first Emmy award for storytelling in VR.

·       Leading work to help consult TV stations and station groups in best practices for news coverage and production in VR/360.

·       Responsible for developing a national network of correspondents to cover news for MANDT VR.

·       In charge of identifying, interviewing and hiring those correspondents.

·       Wrote “pitch deck” materials and participated in pitch meetings with prospective network and business clients.

·       Participated in developing content plan and deployment of 360 material for OTT app in partnership with “Podcast One.”

Office of the Circuit Attorney  St. Louis, MO                                                                                                                  2016

Public Information Officer

·       Led public communication and media relations efforts for Missouri’s highest profile prosecutor’s office. 

·       Involved in almost-daily crisis communication efforts, including planning for release of material on a police officer being charged with murder and multiple officer involved shootings.

·       Took part in planning press events involving the Circuit Attorney.

·       Acted as spokesperson for the office when situations warranted. 

·       In charge of content for office social media accounts and websites. 

·       Worked on longer term communication plan for victims’ rights court battle and campaign.

·       Wrote and produced video material for social media and digital platforms.   

KTVI-TV (FOX)  St, Louis, MO                                                                                                                                            2008-2016

Reporter/Multimedia journalist

·  Consistently generate lead stories for top station in the St. Louis market.

·  Member of “go team” covering the high-profile Ferguson grand jury decision.

·  Won internal competition for stories generating web traffic more than twice as often as any other reporter.

·  Key player in building the station’s Facebook page to a top tier national ranking among local stations.

·  Covered breaking stories and daily news in the St. Louis market. 

·  Smooth, seasoned on-air presence. 

·  Shooting and editing stories for air. 

·  Web producer, developing familiarity with a number of content management systems (CMS) for station websites.

News 12 Long Island, Woodbury, NY

Reporter                                                                                                                                                                                  2005-2007

·  Active leader in suburban New York City newsroom.  

·  Received Emmy nomination for best general news coverage in the entire New York City market. 

·  Quickly earned a reputation as one of the top reporters on the competitive Long Island news scene. 

·  Called, “one of the best broadcast news writers in the nation” by Network president Patrick Dolan.

Education

Boston University - Bachelor of Science in Journalism    

Awards

·  Earned MANDT VR’s first Emmy award, pitting a VR/360 story against “traditional” news content in San Francisco region

·  Emmy nomination in education for work done on behalf of the Kirkwood School District’s 1 to 1 campaign.

·  Emmy nominations in spot news, general news (twice), health news, feature, community, and series categories in St. Louis, New York City, and Louisville markets

·  Numerous Associated press and SPJ awards and recognitions in the markets where I worked as a reporter.