WATERVILLE — Thomas College announces New York Times Best-Selling author and media and sports executive Bill Burke as its 2026 Commencement speaker.
Burke, who has served as chair of the Portland Sea Dogs, president of TBS and CEO of the Weather Channel Companies, will speak at Thomas College’s 123rd Commencement on May 16. He will also receive an honorary degree.
Burke founded The Optimism Institute after a career in media and sports as an executive, writer and producer. He developed the idea for the Institute in 2022 while he was a Fellow in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. A lifelong optimist, Burke launched The Optimism Institute and the Blue Sky podcast to combat the negative effects of news and social media on mental health. Through his podcast, he shares an optimistic vision of the world and its future; he is also a public speaker on the topic.
“Bill Burke is a creator, an inventor, a thinker, and an entrepreneur. He has had multiple careers, written books, led organizations, and developed his own institute and podcast. Bill has modeled for today’s students how a career can change over time and how creative thinkers can combine hard work and strong values to design the lives they want and make positive change in the world, ” said Thomas College President Dr. Jeannine Diddle Uzzi.
Burke spent his early career in the media business. After joining Turner Broadcasting in 1992, he wrote the business plan for Turner Classic Movies and became the cable network’s founding general manager. He went on to become president of TBS Superstation, and following his time at Turner Broadcasting served as CEO of The Weather Channel companies.
In 2005, Burke wrote an article about leadership lessons he learned from Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, and after reading it, Ted asked Bill to ghostwrite his autobiography. The result was “Call Me Ted”, which was published in 2008 and became a top 10 New York Times bestseller. Burke was also the co-writer/producer/director of the 2016 award-winning documentary feature “Live Another Day” about the bailout of the US auto industry.
The state of Maine has been home to Burke and his family for many years. Bill’s late father Dan founded the Portland Sea Dogs, and years later when his health began to fail, Bill succeeded him as the team’s chairman, serving in that capacity for 15 years. Burke also served on several non-profit boards in Maine and was the chair of the boards of Maine Medical Center, MaineHealth, The Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and the US Biathlon Foundation.
Burke graduated with a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.