
Arienne Thompson Plourde has helped shape some of the most iconic and innovative brands in the world as a career strategist and storyteller with 20 years of tech, diversity leadership, media, public relations and higher education experience. She is the Sr. Program Manager for Google Data Centers’ Community Development & Impact program, leading the team’s strategic planning and operations.
Previously, Arienne was Director of PR at a boutique public relations firm, and before that, was a nationally recognized entertainment journalist at USA Today for a decade. Arienne spent her newsroom career covering Hollywood, fashion and the intersection of race & pop culture, reporting from the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, People’s Choice Awards, New York Fashion Week and dozens more premier red carpet events where she interviewed A-list stars like Prince, Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Reese Witherspoon and Venus Williams, to name a few. She was also a regular on-air contributor for NBC’s Today show for two years and appeared as a pop culture expert on CBS, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, TV One, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and more.
Arienne is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she studied history and Japanese, and holds a master’s degree in journalism from American University. She is an active volunteer leader in the Notre Dame alumni network, serving on the Undergraduate Experience Advisory Council since 2012 and having served on both the ND Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Black Alumni of ND Board of Directors. Other board and council appointments include Urban Arts, The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, homeless youth nonprofit Mobile Hope and The College of Charleston School of Communications. Arienne is also an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University, where she has taught journalism since 2018.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Arienne has lived in the Washington, D.C. metro area since 2004 and currently resides in northern Virginia with her husband and son.