Heather Wilson

Heather Wilson is a Managing Director in the Dallas-Fort Worth office, where she advises clients on corporate and executive positioning, crisis communications, litigation, media strategy, stakeholder engagement and special situations. With over 20 years of communications and media experience, Heather has worked with clients ranging from Silicon Valley startups to major consumer brands, financial services firms, professional sports teams and the media and entertainment industry. She also helped launch and serves as the media advisor to the Silicon Valley-based nonprofit Project Include, which works to improve diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.

Prior to joining TrailRunner, Heather was a Senior Consultant for the Silicon Valley communications firm Big Valley Marketing, where she led strategic, financial, and crisis communications for the firm’s cybersecurity and tech clients. Previously, she served as Managing Director and Head of California for SKDK, based out of Los Angeles, and as Managing Director and Head of the San Francisco Office for Abernathy MacGregor, where she also led digital and social media strategy. Prior to that she led corporate and crisis communications on the West Coast for Weber Shandwick.

A seasoned crisis manager, Heather has handled a wide array of complex issues including high-profile litigation, government investigations, data breaches, product issues, pandemic response, and airline disasters. As a media and crisis trainer, she has counseled celebrities, professional athletes, CEOs, and public officials. Before beginning her career in strategic communications, Heather was a California-based journalist for several news outlets, including CBS MarketWatch, CNBC, FOX News, and the Los Angeles Times.

Heather received her B.A. in political science from Southern Methodist University and her Master of Arts in journalism at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism where she won awards for Best Online News Feature by the Los Angeles Press Club and was named Annenberg’s “Outstanding Journalism Student, Digital News.”

Heather lives in the Dallas area and enjoys travel, reading, and finding new hiking trails with her dog.