The Cameron Art Museum Board of Trustees didn’t have to look far to find the museum's new director. 

The board unanimously named Heather Wilson as the museum’s executive director, the nonprofit announced Tuesday. 

Wilson had been serving as deputy director since 2019 and started at the museum in 2006, when she was hired as a development officer, according to a press release. “Wilson has been an integral part of the CAM leadership operations,” the release stated. 

With a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and a master’s of fine arts from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilson has brought a range of expertise and skills to CAM. At UNCW, she co-founded the nationally known literary journal, Ecotone, and has continued to author numerous publications.

In recent years, Wilson led a needs assessment for CAM’s programming and oversaw its diversity and equity inclusion initiatives. She has also procured several grants for CAM, notably including grants from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services and PNC Bank. 

Longtime museum director Anne Brennan retired in March and Wilson has been leading as interim since then. 

“After an intensive search and review of a few well-qualified candidates, our search committee was unanimous in selecting Ms. Wilson to lead the Cameron Art Museum into the future,” Gregory Miller, chair of the board, said in the release. “Her vision, knowledge, expertise, and commitment to CAM and the Cape Fear Region assure us a level of continuity and progressive leadership moving forward.”