My Story

James Sims

Having trained as a radio and television reporter in the U.S. Air Force, newsroom pressure is old hat. I hustled getting a morning radio show on the air in South Korea for nearly two years, bringing news to troops serving overseas. After getting off the air, I would grab a video camera and file stories for a nightly half-hour television newscast. Suffice it to say, working while military officers peered over my shoulder led to a quick mastery of news production and reporting.

After separating from the military, I worked in the entertainment-news industry, beginning at Entertainment Tonight/The Insider — right as then shamed Pat O’Brien returned from pop-culture exile — and then The Hollywood Reporter. My next transition was into the digital media world, first launching Los Angeles regional coverage for BroadwayWorld.com, where I worked as the senior editor and digital video producer. I also started working as a featured blogger for various sites including The Huffington Post, Fancast.com and TheWrap.com.

After relocating to New York City to earn a master’s degree at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, I was hired as the senior new media specialist at the American Museum of Natural History. In that role, I helped guide the historic institution into the digital age, establishing an award-winning presence on YouTube and assisting in the content creation for multiple iPhone/iPad apps.

Later working in a newly created role as the digital content editor at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, I put my focus back on the arts and culture world. I spent my time at Lincoln Center managing social media and digital content. After relocating back to Los Angeles in order to raise a family, I began work as the Director of Communications at Center Theatre Group (Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and Kirk Douglas Theatre), one of the country’s leading nonprofit theatre organizations. While at Center Theatre Group, I led the communications department that oversaw press/public relations, social media and digital communications, content development, web oversight, and board/staff communications.

After many years living back in Los Angeles, I decided to return to the east coast and transition from nonprofit arts to higher education, taking a role as the Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.