Your work is
too important for
the wrong strategy.

Strategy shaped by
experience and
uncommon access.

D. Brian Collier is a civic strategist and philanthropic leader whose career has been defined by a single conviction: that closing the gap between ambition and impact requires both intellectual rigor and genuine human connection.

As Executive Vice President of Foundation for the Carolinas, Brian led the design of the Leading on Opportunity initiative, a civic economic mobility strategy that Harvard economist Raj Chetty has described as a global model. Most recently, as President of The Gambrell Foundation, he developed the Great Life Project, an initiative reframing how communities think about wellbeing, purpose, and meaning for young people.

Among his proudest achievements is serving as the Founding Executive Director of Victory Junction, a multi-million dollar medical camp for children with serious illnesses co-founded by actor Paul Newman and NASCAR legends Richard and Kyle Petty. That experience, building something meaningful from nothing, alongside people who cared deeply about making it real, remains a touchstone for how Brian approaches every engagement.

Brian is a first-generation college graduate from a low-income background. That foundation shapes every engagement: the insider access of a senior philanthropic leader paired with the outsider clarity of someone who understands what is truly at stake.

He holds a B.A. from the University of Central Florida and a J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and practiced law for five years before entering the civic sector.