EDDIE FRANCIS
BIOGRAPHY
FULL BIO
Eddie Francis promotes ethical leadership in everything he does, including his work in strategic communications, professional speaking, and award-winning broadcasting. He hosts the personal leadership podcast "For Our Edification", the WBOK radio talk show "The Way Forward", and the fraternity and sorority life leadership podcast "Ethocast". He is also the author of the ebook The D9 Leadership Blueprint.
Eddie has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Volt, The Huffington Post, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Watch the Yard, Inside Higher Ed, and Careers in Government. He has appeared on podcasts including "ILLUMENATE", "Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO", "The Horrible Boss Effect", "The Fraternity Foodie Podcast", and "The HBCU Nation", and contributed to the books The 30-60-90-Day Handbook: Checklists for Communications and Marketing Leaders in Higher Education, From Letters to Leaders: Perseverance and How to Be a Great Fraternity or Sorority Alumnus, Epic Content Marketing for Higher Education, and the 2025 release From Letters to Leaders: The Legacy of Service.
As a speaker, Eddie addresses the leader-follower relationship, followership, personal leadership, leadership in philanthropy, and marketing communications for organizations, including the American Marketing Association, the Big XII Conference on Black Student Government, the Northeast Greek Leadership Association, the Urban League of Louisiana, and Hannon Hill.
Eddie's career launched as "Fast Eddie," producer of the hit morning show "C.J. & Company" on WQUE, New Orleans' top hip hop station, and co-producer of the award-winning "Sunday Journal with Hal Clark" on WYLD. He previously hosted "I Wanna Work There!", one of Hannon Hill's top higher ed marketing podcasts of 2024, and "The HBCU Lifestyle Podcast", one of Podbean's top 10 education podcasts.
Eddie found his voice in education, reaching over 250,000 high school and college students in 25+ states as a speaker for Monster's Making It Count programs. He led public relations at Southern University at New Orleans, developing the university's branding and website redesign, then helped spark enrollment growth at Paul Quinn College amid a PR crisis. At Dillard University, Eddie led the "Write Your Legacy" brand refresh, increased institutional media voices by 125%, expanded licensed merchandise offerings, and led the website redesign. He later pivoted to talent acquisition, recruiting for Cielo and brands including Quest Diagnostics, Staples, Lowe's, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Tyco SimplexGrinnell.
Eddie's honors include New Orleans Magazine's "30 People to Watch," the Press Club of New Orleans' Best Radio Entertainment Feature Award, and two AMA Foundation Higher Education Marketer of the Year nominations.
Eddie earned his master's in strategic leadership from Tennessee State University and his bachelor's in mass communication from Loyola University New Orleans. He is a member of the American Marketing Association, the International Leadership Association, the Press Club of New Orleans, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
SHORT BIO
Eddie Francis is a marketing and communications consultant, award-winning broadcaster, and speaker. He hosts “The Way Forward” on WBOK radio in New Orleans and “For Our Edification,” a personal leadership podcast. Eddie has been quoted and featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Huffington Post, Inside Higher Ed, Careers in Government, and Watch the Yard. He has also appeared on various podcasts, including “Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO,” “The Horrible Boss Effect,” “ILLUMENATE,” and more.
Among Eddie's honors are New Orleans Magazine’s “30 People to Watch,” the Press Club of New Orleans’ Best Radio Entertainment Feature, and two nominations for AMA’s Higher Education Marketer of the Year. Eddie earned his master’s in strategic leadership from Tennessee State University and his bachelor’s in mass communication from Loyola University New Orleans. He is a member of the International Leadership Association, American Marketing Association, the Press Club of New Orleans, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.