Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson was a community media leader who rose through the Alliance for Community Media from regional chair to national board chair. He served first as chair of the Northeast Region, then the Northwest Region, and ultimately chaired the national ACM Board of Directors. His career crossed commercial and nonprofit community television, government service, volunteer firefighting, and mentoring, giving his field leadership a broad civic foundation.

In 2005, Brian received the ACM’s Sue Miller Buske Leadership Award. The ACM Foundation later established the Brian Wilson Scholarship in his memory to support students pursuing media arts, broadcast journalism, community and public service, public education, and related fields. The scholarship carries forward a central part of his legacy: building community by bringing people of diverse backgrounds together through media.

Brian’s path from local practitioner to national board chair, and the scholarship that now bears his name, both point to a deeper purpose in community media. The work was never only about producing programming. It was also about developing people, strengthening relationships, and helping communities build the capacity to tell their own stories.