In a social media post, Desselle said he’ll now work with the utility’s communications team to help deliver the company’s messaging. He reflected on how a reporting assignment in Houston while covering a major New Orleans story in 2021 ultimately led him to the city a year later.
That opportunity turned into four years at FOX 26, where he said he covered some of Houston’s biggest stories while also anchoring, livestreaming and reporting breaking news.
“But I knew that there was more to do,” Desselle wrote. “So I worked, prayed and moved like it was taken care of. Now I get to transfer all of my skills into communicating on a higher level.”
He ended the post with a message to others considering a career change: “Whatever it is, just take the leap.”
Desselle left the FOX-owned station in June after four years in Houston and an 18-year television news career. At the time, he told followers his next chapter would be “better for my family and me beyond the newsroom.”
He joined FOX 26 in June 2022 from WDSU 6 in New Orleans, where he served as a weekend anchor. While there, he earned an RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the documentary History and Hope: Our Hidden Past.
A Louisiana native, Desselle graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches with degrees in music and theatre. He began his journalism career at KALB News Channel 5 in Alexandria, La., before later joining WDSU.
“I work with a team of talented comms professionals — some of them have made the same transitions from news — including my amazing colleague Lena D., who’s our Chief Meteorologist,” he wrote. “A pleasure to work alongside her again in Houston!”
CenterPoint has also previously employed another familiar name in Houston weather. Matt Lanza, the meteorologist and managing editor of popular weather blog Space City Weather, served as the company’s chief meteorologist. Earlier this year, Lanza announced he is moving to Connecticut after spending more than a decade in Houston.