Noelle Thomas

Noelle Thomas is a production designer, educator, and Associate Program Chair of the Film & Television Production Program at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she leads the Production Design concentration. Her professional work spans film, television, theater, and opera, with credits including NBC Universal’s "Chicago Med," FX/Hulu’s "Reservation Dogs," Amazon/Legendary’s "Night Sky," HBO Max’s "South Side," "Empire," and "Fargo: Kansas City."

Her teaching and research focus on production design education, storytelling through space, experiential learning, and the relationship between physical and emerging digital production practices. Her scholarship examines how production design and world-building can contribute to contemporary media education, with particular attention to spatial thinking, collaborative design processes, and evolving production technologies. Her research has been presented nationally and internationally and published in academic journals and edited collections. She has also been recognized as a University Film and Video Association Early Career Faculty Fellow.

Thomas represents DePaul University in CILECT, the International Association of Film and Television Schools, and is a member of the Production Design Research and Education Network (PDREN), the Television Academy, and IATSE Local 476. Through PDREN and other academic forums, she contributes to international conversations about production design practice, education, and pedagogy.

She holds an MFA in Stage Design from Northwestern University and a BFA in Scenic Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University.