Geneva Cegelis Sum is Communications Director at UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools, where she manages branding, creative direction, communications strategy & deliverables, and public & media relations for the Center and hosts its podcast, Among Us. Geneva has a proven track record of elevating CTS’s research to multiple stakeholders & audiences and creating compelling campaigns using storytelling/narrative techniques, impactful visuals, multimedia, strategic collaborations, and accessible language.
Geneva has a background in graphic design and photography and provided creative services across a range of industries as a consultant and in-house creative director in the private sector before joining UCLA. Geneva has a passion for empowering historically marginalized young people to transform their lives and communities through education and creativity. She has mentored and led photography and creativity workshops for transitional youth and adults in Los Angeles, liberated child brides in Bangladesh, Syrian refugees in Beirut, and sex trafficking survivors in Mexico City.
Geneva holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Northeastern University in Boston, MA, where she was awarded the Meserve Award for Creative Excellence, and a Photography certificate from the Los Angeles Center of Photography with a concentration in portraiture, street, documentary, and personal narrative. She is currently working towards a Marketing certificate from UCLA Extension.
Geneva lives in South Orange County, CA with her husband Wyatt, a toddler, and rescue Yorki-poo Wilbur. Her interests include hot yoga, cooking, thrifting, crafting, and film photography.
