Office Of The President

University Communications

Alonda Thomas serves as Chief Communications Officer and Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Jackson State University. She is responsible for brand and reputation management, marketing, media relations and strategic communications. Thomas previously served as director of public relations and interim vice president of communications at Howard University. During her tenure, the Office of University Communications received several awards, including the Public Relations Society of America 2021 Bronze Anvil Award for Executive Communications, the 2020 Bronze Anvil Award for Twitter Engagement, and the PRWeek 2020 Best in a Crisis Award.

Previously Thomas served as senior public relations manager at TV One. She was responsible for developing the publicity strategy for unscripted and scripted programming, including “Rickey Smiley For Real,” the award-winning docu-series “Unsung” and original movies such as “Downsized” and “When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story,” which became the network’s #1 premiere of all time. Her efforts resulted in an increased level of visibility and earned media for TV One in key outlets such as Entertainment Tonight, E! News, Extra, Billboard, New York Times, TV Guide, CNN, Essence and Ebony.

In 2016, Thomas served as a publicity consultant for Liquid Soul, an entertainment and sports marketing company in Atlanta. She led the PR strategy for a variety of clients, including ABC Network, CNN, Walt Disney Studios and Fox Searchlight. She executed national urban press outreach for the highly acclaimed Spike Lee film “Chi-Raq,” and CNN’s award-winning docu-series “The United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell.” She also developed the PR campaign strategy and crisis management for season 2 of ABC’s hit sitcom, “black-ish,” which increased the show’s viewership among its target demographic and led to multiple award nominations.

In 2013, Thomas served as director of media relations and interim chief communications officer at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where she was responsible for the overall direction of the university’s media relations program, including managing the return of the Marching “100.”

Thomas earned her bachelor’s degree in public relation from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and her master’s degree in integrated marketing and management communications from Florida State University where she served as a university fellow and taught public speaking.