15 things to know about Leslie King, DA’s new director of communications
Melody Guyton Butts
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eslie King (top left) began her tenure as Durham Academy director of communications this spring. Her résumé includes stints as a general assignment television news reporter; an anchor, producer and executive producer at CNN Headline News; director of public information for the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta; and, most recently, communications director for Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network. But there's more to a person than her business bio. For those nuggets of knowledge, read on. 1.) I'm a lefty. 2.) I'm a Miami native, and I’m of Cuban, Italian, Irish and German descent. I have one amazing sister and a fantastic brother who is 21. 3.) I'm addicted to French fries. 4.) I’m also addicted to the BBC’s Sherlock, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and I go way back. 5.) My top 5 SiriusXM channels are: 1st Wave, SiriusXMU, Backspin, The Groove and KidzBop (for my daughter). 6.) I was the lead singer in a cover band in high school. The name of our band was 33RPM. 7.) I went to Connecticut College, 1,400 miles away from home, in the same town my mother was born in. 8.) I spent my junior year of college in Norwich, England, at the University of East Anglia. My English Premier League team of choice is Tottenham Hotspur. My other favorite? Liverpool. 9.) I believe there's a Muppet for everyone. According to my friends, I’m either Waldorf or Statler. 10.) I met my husband while we were working as general assignment reporters for competing stations in Savannah, Ga. One of the first times we met was after an enormous explosion at a chemical tank farm prompted a mass evacuation. This photo was taken shortly after that (middle left). 11.) About half of my years at CNN Headline News were spent working on a morning show. A morning show crew typically gets to work at 1 a.m. and leaves at 9 a.m. Life doesn’t get weirder than that. 12.) I love never having the same day twice. 13.) I married into barbecue royalty. I had never tried Eastern North Carolina-style BBQ before I tasted King’s, and it’s my favorite! 14.) I have a few basic communications-related mantras. My new favorite is, “in the absence of actual information, people just make stuff up.” 15.) These two people are my whole world (bottom left). Learn more about Leslie at bit.ly/LeslieKing. Email her at leslie. king@da.org or follow her on Twitter @staytunedlk! The whole communications gang can be reached at communications@da.org. Our office can never have too much information — send us your stories, announcements, achievements, photos and videos so we can share them! DURHAM ACADEMY RECORD | SUMMER 2014 | WWW.DA.ORG
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