Writer & Photographer

Making a Big Impact

Melissa Braillard is a woman on a mission. 

As Director of Community Impact at WUCF, Central Florida’s PBS station, Melissa has served the local community in advancing the goal of the station: to bring free, high quality public broadcasting to everyone. 

In November, she was named the recipient of the esteemed Terri S. Chastain Award for Outstanding Fundraising Professional, due to her exceptional fundraising efforts and commitment to WUCF, and she is truly one of Central Florida’s treasures. 

Born to parents Rick and Marilee Mason, in Detroit, Michigan, Melissa studied at Washington State University, majoring in theater with a minor in journalism and marketing.

It was at Washington State University that she met Patrick, her husband of 20 years, and the two of them arrived in Florida just two weeks before hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne descended on the state in 2004. Despite the whirlwind introduction to her new home, she fell in love with the area, and the people she now serves. 

She joined the resident company at The Orlando Shakespeare Company, as it was then, before becoming marketing assistant and finally, marketing director of the organization. 

She became Director of Community Impact at WUCF in 2021, serving over 4 million viewers, within the nine counties of Central Florida. She currently leads the teams responsible for all community engagement, education, and philanthropic activities - including special events, major gifts, membership and corporate support. “My role at WUCF is to take the content that you see, be it Nova, Florida Roadtrip, Global Perspectives, and so on, and bring it into the community. It’s our goal to provide high quality content you can trust,” she adds. 

Her enthusiasm for her job is infectious, especially when it comes to the area’s youngest viewers: “Kids watching PBS shows are 14% more likely to succeed at school,” she says. It’s one of the main reasons Melissa is so passionate about what she does: “you can TRUST the material that your kids watch on PBS,” she explains, “it’s backed by researched based education, and I feel we have a responsibility for it to be available in the community, for free.” She sees fundraising as the key to this mission, “Through fundraising, we are allowed to make a real difference in the world and see positive change happen right before our eyes. When we come together to support our favorite non-profit organizations we can accomplish amazing things.”

It’s this can-do attitude and enduring optimism that has contributed to the increase in local PBS memberships, in contrast to the national average’s decline. “The numbers speak for themselves,” she comments, “and as an organization, WUCF puts people first - we value our staff. We are all excited to come to work each day, and innovate. We believe we are invested in the community. We’ve created this culture of appreciation and innovation and it’s paid off! We are a family.” And this attitude of inclusion and excitement about what’s possible when people go forward together, has transferred into the expanding membership at the station. 

Melissa’s family life at home is also full to the brim, with Patrick and their two children, Calvin, 11 and Daphne, 9, and their animals: 2 cats, Coconut and Beatrice; 2 dogs, Jelly and Gracie; 5, (yes, 5!) guinea pigs: Hercules, Lafayette, Smores, Snickers and French Fry… and if there’s an award for most interesting pet names, the Braillards surely must be contenders! 

She acknowledges balancing family and a work life that really matters can be a juggling act. Her husband Patrick is Senior Show Writer at Universal Studios Orlando, and so neither of them have “traditional” 9-5 jobs. “I am so privileged,” she notes, “to have both - a wonderful work environment and wonderful home life.” 

More than anything, she wants the viewership in Central Florida to understand that WUCF belongs to the community. “We absolutely exist because of you,” she says, “we are YOUR member station, we are honored to provide a public service and and we always want to hear from you!” 

Central Florida, and WUCF in particular, are very lucky to have Melissa on their side!

To become a member of WUCF and support public broadcasting, please visit www.wucf.org

Melissa Braillard Article

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