Neil Foote
NBPRS President Emeritus
Executive Director, Frisco Marketing Strategy
University of North Texas
Neil Foote is an accomplished entrepreneur, educator, and communications strategist with over 40 years of experience in media, public relations, and marketing. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame and the C.E. Shuford Hall of Honor at the Mayborn School of Journalism, he is the CEO of Foote Communications LLC, a leading multicultural marketing and PR firm specializing in content management and strategic communication.
Prior to this role, Foote taught a wide variety of classes at the university’s Mayborn School of Journalism and served as director of the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference and former advisor to the UNT’s NABJ student chapter. He also is author of “Principles of News (Kendall Hunt Publisher 2020) and is a contributor to the textbook, “Race, Gender, Class, and Media: Studying Mass Communication and Multiculturalism” (Kendall Hunt Publisher 2017).
Neil’s career spans multiple sectors, from journalism (Miami Herald, Washington Post) to media sales and Internet strategy (Dallas Morning News/Belo Corp.), and public relations (Tom Joyner/Reach Media). He has provided strategic counsel to high-profile clients across business, entertainment, and nonprofit sectors, including Denny’s, Change.org, Tom Joyner, and the Communities Foundation of Texas.
Foote is treasurer, Commission on Public Relations Education; board chair for Forefront Living; a Dallas-based operator and developer of continuing care retirement communities and hospice care; board member and former board chair of the National Kidney Foundation Serving North Texas; president emeritus of the National Black Public Relations Society, Inc; and board member, Diversity Action Alliance, a coalition of public relations organizations; and a Life Trustee at The Lamplighter School.
Neil holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, a Master’s in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School, and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business.
