Whittington has served as PR Consultant with the district through MGT Management Firm the past 5 years
During the October 23rd school board meeting, Gary Community School Corporation School Board of Trustees approved the appointment of PR professional and entrepreneur Chelsea Whittington as Chief of Public and Community Relations. With more than 30 years of experience, Whittington has served as PR Consultant to the district for the past 5 years through MGT, the firm that managed the district during State takeover. Local control resumed in the Gary schools effective July 1, 2024.
“Having served as Public Relations Director for the Gary Schools more than 20 years ago, this is truly a full circle moment,” said Whittington. “It is an honor to serve a school district that laid the foundation for my success.”
Whittington is a 1990 graduate of West Side High School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism from Howard University and a Master of Arts from Purdue University in Organizational Communications.
“The strong ties and passion that Mrs. Whittington has in this community are truly complimentary to the vast array of public relations skills she brings to the table,” said GCSC Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Stokes. “She has worked vigorously for the past five years assisting the district in returning to local oversight and is now poised to work with the GCSC leadership team to take our school system to the next level.”
Since 2015, Whittington has operated her own PR Consulting firm, C WHITT, where she develops public relations and social media strategies for clients as well as presents workshops and trainings on social media and public speaking. During her role as PR Consultant at GCSC, she was instrumental in helping pass the referendum and keeping stakeholders informed of the District’s progress during state oversight.
Whittington continues to serve as an adjunct instructor at Indiana University Northwest teaching various courses in Public Relations, Event Planning, Social Media, Introduction to Computers and Introduction to Email/Internet for the past 25 years.
She resides in Gary with her husband of 15 years Terrell and their black labrador Pepper.
Her first day as an employee of GCSC was November 1.
