Brooke Ellis

Diversity Media Manager
General Motors
Detroit, Mich.
Age: 30

As the diversity media manager for General Motors, Brooke Ellis is responsible for overseeing multiplatform consumer media plans for the multicultural market for all GM brands, including Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC and OnStar. Ellis credits Trina Barta, the company’s director of media operations and the woman who created her current position, as one of her sources of professional inspiration. “I had the perception that the person who inspires you or your role model typically had to look like you or come from the same background culturally. But it was a matter of her believing in me and having a true understanding of what the marketplace looked like. She pushes me to put my best foot forward in everything I do,” says Ellis. 

Outside of her successful career as a media and advertising professional, Ellis has engaged in an array of diverse experiences. The trained ballet dancer worked on President Obama’s national fundraising committee prior to his election. “It was a big challenge. We had to raise a million dollars. It was hard times and no one thought it could be accomplished, we reached out to close friends and influencers and were able to raise the money in two weeks. President Obama flew in and took pictures with the people that donated funds and I got to meet him prior to going into office,” says Ellis. She has also served as a consultant for boutique advertising companies, fashion designers, art galleries and nonprofit organizations.

Ellis frequently takes a vacation to wind down from her busy life and practices yoga and Pilates to keep her mind and body fit. She graduated from Hampton University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, attended the University of Michigan School of Communication for Continued Graduate Education and was selected as a University of California Los Angeles Graduate Research Fellow.

Fun Facts
Dish you cook best: Broiled lamb chops
Sports team: LA Lakers
Favorite charity: Horatio Williams Foundation