Brian Lucas

Brian Lucas has spent decades telling stories, starting out as a journalist, working for a Fortune 500 company, and later focusing on health care and higher education. 

Brian’s storytelling roots go back to his days as an undergraduate at Princeton University, where he worked on a nationally syndicated radio show called American Focus. He honed his interview skills speaking with influential figures such as Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, Connie Chung, Pete Rose and Norman Mailer.

After college Brian pursued a career in journalism, interning with CNN in Washington, DC, and then working as a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio.  He earned a Masters Degree in Broadcasting from Northwestern University and started working as a television reporter for the CBS station in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  After four years on the air, he switched careers, moving back to his hometown of Minneapolis and starting a career in communications.  

Brian joined an international public relations agency, Fleishman Hillard, where he worked on clients including Freschetta Pizza, the Avenue of the Arts, the Blandin Foundation and the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence.  Brian left the agency world to work at Best Buy, leading national campaigns to educate people about electronics and entertainment. He left the corporate world to tap into his passion for health care, joining Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and then the University of Minnesota, where he led communications for the Academic Health Center, including all of the University's health sciences schools.

Brian is the author of Here Comes the Sun: A Young Family's Journey Through Cancer, the 2014 Midwest Book Award winner for best memoir. He chairs the Advocacy Committee for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Minnesota Chapter and previously served as board chair. He also hosted and produced the podcast, Voices of COVID-19.

In 2006, Brian was named to the Twin Cities Business Journal’s annual “40 under 40” list of influential members of the local business community.  He is a graduate of the Leadership Twin Cities program and he completed the Policy Fellows program at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. He is also a member of the Twin Cities Dunkers, an organization of existing and emerging leaders in the Twin Cities area.