Gianina Thompson
DirectorAs sports and entertainment storytelling continues to evolve, Gianina embodies both sides of the coin— on paper and in front of the camera as a journalist/creative and behind the scenes as a publicist/comms professional. Her diverse experience within public relations + editorial storytelling ranges from ESPN, Nike Inc., Netflix, sports teams and leagues, as well as InStyle, Glamour, and Teen Vogue magazines.
Presently, she works at Netflix leading communications for their sports, documentaries, unscripted, and live programming. Prior to that, she led the communications and publicity team for LeBron James’ Emmy award-winning Uninterrupted brand and SpringHill media company on shows/films like The Shop, Space Jam: A New Legacy, House Party, and Redeem Team. At Nike Inc, she led communication strategies around Converse returning to basketball with athletes like Draymond Green and Natasha Cloud, skateboarding campaigns with Louie Lopez and Alexis Sabone (inclusive of narrative shaping around the sport joining the Olympic games), and products tied to entertainers like Tyler the Creator, Vince Staples and Miley Cyrus. At ESPN, she led publicity efforts for the NBA, MLB, and Little League where she expanded press coverage from sports-centric outlets to more entertainment, style, and cultural angles. This included when Jessica Mendoza made history as the first woman MLB analyst for Sunday Night Baseball.
As a journalist, Gianina has written for entertainment magazines and ESPN as well as reported for Galvanize where she also media-trained NFL first-round Draft picks like Daniel Jones, Jerry Tillery, and Josh Allen. She’s interviewed Viola Davis on what it means to be a Black woman on TV out of necessity, sports analyst Ros Gold-Onwude on breaking free from traditional anchorwoman hair with braids along with opinion pieces around Black woman surfers maintaining their hair, and an “explicit guide” to being anti-racist.
