Summary
Todd Felts, a beloved member of the Reynolds School faculty, passed away in November 2024.
Dr. Felts brings more than two decades of public relations and advertising leadership to the Reynolds School. He has worked for elected officials, law firms, national non-profits, PR firms and advertising agencies. He served as a speechwriter and later a press secretary for Gov. Jim Hunt in North Carolina and director of community relations for the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games. He also oversaw the media relations for the 2000 U.S. Open Women’s Golf Championship. Felts launched his career reporting at WGHP TV and later as the PIO for the North Carolina Zoological Park/NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources. He produced and hosted an “At the Zoo” television segment.
Felts spent nearly a decade in Washington, D.C., serving as a director at Levick Strategic Communications where he was a member of the Holmes Report’s Crisis Communications Team of the Year. While in D.C., he also served as the director of communications for a Pew Charitable Trust program, The Trust for Early Education, and was the media relations director at RMR & Associates.
Before coming to the Reynolds School, Felts was the national director of business development for Ogletree Deakins, one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms. Dr. Felts is an accredited professional with the Public Relations Society of America.
At Nevada, Felts received the 2019 Distinguished Outreach Faculty Award and in 2014, he received the Honors Program Distinguished Faculty Award. He also spent three years serving as the director of the graduate program in interactive journalism at the Reynolds School. Through grants through the U.S. Department of State, he has been involved in several international visitor programs to Nevada, including serving as the academic director for the Algerian Youth Leadership Program since 2009.
Felts also shares his expertise in the community. He serves on the board of trustees of Northern Nevada HOPES, a community health center as well as co-chair of Pops on the River, an annual fundraiser event for the Reno Philharmonic. He also spent years on the board of trustees for Nevada Humanities. His work has earned him recognition including being honored as the board member of the year by the Human Service Network of Nevada and most recently begin named the Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Education
- Ed.D. in Management & Leadership, Drexel University
- M.A. in Liberal Studies/International Communications, Georgetown University
- B.A. in Broadcast Journalism, Lenoir-Rhyne University
Professional certifications
- APR - Public Relations Society of America