Michael Lewellen (1960–)

Michael Lewellen became a leader in the field of corporate communications beginning in the 1980s, going on to work for such corporate giants as Southwestern Bell Telephone, Nike, ING Group, Fox Sports Network, and Black Entertainment Television.

Michael Lewellen was born on January 16, 1960, in Marianna (Lee County), the oldest of five children, one boy and four girls, of Baptist minister Herman Lewellen and schoolteacher Mildred King Lewellen. After graduating from Jonesboro High School in 1978, he enrolled at Arkansas State University (ASU) in Jonesboro (Craighead County), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1983. While a student, he worked for the campus newspaper, The Herald, as well as in the ASU Sports Information Office, and he was a member of the men’s tennis team. Following graduation, he worked as a sports reporter and columnist for the Pine Bluff Commercial.

Lewellen’s reputation as a journalist and communicator eventually caught the attention of leaders in the world of corporate communications. In September 1985, he began working as a corporate public relations manager for Southwestern Bell Telephone. After a five-year stint with Southwestern Bell, where he developed expertise in constituency and media relations, marketing, and employee communications, he was recruited in 1991 by Nike, where he would serve in a variety of corporate roles, including general manager/product line manager for baseball and softball equipment; director of corporate development; and urban and minority affairs manager.

From 1996 to 1998, Michael resided in Atlanta, Georgia, working as director of corporate communications for North America at Amsterdam-based ING Group, a $300 billion global financial services firm, and later as director of public relations for the 1998 Goodwill Games for Turner Sports. He also worked as vice president for media relations at Fox Sports Network in New York City in 1998.

An experienced and well-respected leader in corporate communications by the late 1990s, he was hired at Washington DC–based Black Entertainment Television (BET Networks) in 1999, where he would work in a variety of roles over the next seven years, culminating with his promotion to senior vice president for corporate communications. Lewellen became vice president for public relations at Universal Orlando in September 2007.

Lewellen founded his own communications consultancy practice, LEWCOM Strategies, in 2009 and served clients in communications planning, media relations, brand definition, and crisis management. That same year, he also was recruited by the Central Florida Urban League to serve as chair of their board of directors. He also served as the agency’s acting chief executive officer (CEO) during his three-year stint there. Before leaving the nonprofit sector, he also served for one year as vice president for marketing and communications for the Heart of Florida United Way.

In 2012, Lewellen was hired as senior vice president of communications and public engagement for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association, a position he held for almost seven years. In 2019, he ventured into higher education by taking the newly formed position of vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Portland.

Elected as the 2023 president of the University Club of Portland, he was the first African American president in the 125-year history of the city’s leading private professional and social club. He was chairman of the board of directors for the Urban League of Portland, one of the oldest Black nonprofit organizations in Oregon, and began serving on the board trustees of the Legacy Health Foundation.

An accredited public relations practitioner through both the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), in 2020, he was honored by the Oregon Chapter of PRSA with the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the public relations profession—the first-ever Black practitioner to receive that recognition.

Lewellen is the father of three children—Brandi Lewellen Doan, Elliott Lewellen (deceased), and Ethan Lewellen. Brandi and Ethan also graduated from Arkansas State University. He married Traciee Thomas in 2024.

For additional information:
Canzano, John. “Michael Lewellen Sounds off on Time with Trail Blazers, a Career in Sports, Higher Ed and Losing a Child.” Oregonian, February 5, 2022. https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2022/02/michael-lewellen-sounds-off-on-time-with-trail-blazers-a-career-in-sports-higher-ed-and-losing-a-child.html (accessed November 25, 2025).

“Michael Lewellen, Former Portland Trail Blazers Executive, Appointed New Vice President for Marketing and Communications at University of Portland.” University of Portland, July 9, 2029. https://www.up.edu/news/2019/07/michael-lewellen-named-marketing-communications-vice-president.html (accessed November 25, 2025).

Lillie Mae Fears
Arkansas State University