About Thomas R. Williams - Speaker, Author, NFL Player Ambassador

Thomas R. Williams

Speaker, Author, NFL Player Engagement Ambassador

Thomas R. Williams is a professional speaker and the author of “Permission to DREAM,” “The Relentless Pursuit of Greatness” and “DIG”.

As a professional speaker, Mr. Williams is a member of The Jon Gordon Speaking team and communicates with great passion and purpose on “The Energy Bus” and “The Power of Positive Leadership” He impacts his audiences by helping them create a successful vision that leads them to greatness.

When Thomas isn’t speaking with corporations and organizations, he works closely with both college and professional athletes on the inevitable transition to life beyond the scoreboard. It is here where he drives home his mantra, “Athletes are great people first, who just so happen to be great athletes. Greatness may have started with sports, but it doesn’t end when you retire… GREATNESS is a lifestyle.”

In 2008 Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Sociology. Nicknamed The Hitman, Thomas was a captain on USC’s football team, where he and his Trojan teammates had a record of 59-6. They won 2 National Championships and 3 Rose Bowls.

Selected 155^thoverall in the 2008 NFL Draft Thomas played 5 years in the NFL, where he was not just focused on winning and competing, but rather mastering TEAMWORK, MENTAL TOUGHNESS and LEADERSHIP.

In 2012 after a career ending neck injury, Thomas transitioned from a game changer to a life changer, helping teams tackle obstacles and finding their winning solutions.

About Thomas R. Williams - Speaker, Author, NFL Player Engagement Ambassador, Team - Kelly Rose Pion-Capone, Scott Capone

The Team

Thomas R. Williams, Kelly Rose Pion-Capone, & Scott Arthur Capone

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Successful teams have great individuals who work towards a common goal and a singular focus. Our goal is to IMPACT, INSPIRE and IGNITE. From the inception of Thomas R. Williams, Inc. in 2012, this has been the Marketing and PR team. With over 45 years of combined experience in the field, Scott and Kelly and their company Villa di Strategies 214, Inc. manage the scheduling, contract negotiation, social media engagement, brand management. Together, we collaborate with your organization to ensure successful events. By doing this the results are tailormade presentations relaying the overall theme and message.

Chris Sutcliffe

Head Coach, NIU Women’s Softball

“Thomas Williams provided a phenomenal opportunity for our student athletes to grow as individuals in the matter of one hour. His impact on our program will be noticed not only on the field this year, but for life within each player. He truly motivates and challenges one’s mindset and perspectives to accomplish greater opportunities in all the obstacles that life can present on a daily basis.”

Wendy Hamilton

Civil Air Patrol

Thank you Mr. Williams for getting us “out of the parking lot” during our inaugural Youth Development Conference for Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program volunteers. Your presentation and interactive training started us off on our journey with high energy! I can’t wait to see how our volunteers use your encouragement and practical steps to making a good youth program even better.

Hans Appel

Enterprise Middle School
“Award Winning Culture”

“We recently had the pleasure of learning from Thomas. He’s an outstanding speaker, passionate leader, and engaging author who oozes authenticity as he share his inspirational work! My students were absolutely MESMORIZED as they hung on each of his words, insights, and bits of wisdom. Thomas is an uberCHARASMATIC individual who clearly cares about positively impacting the world, one school and one student at a time. We look forward to working with Thomas again real soon! Highest Recommendation!”

Jaynee Golden

Licensed Therapist & School Counselor
Vista Del Mar High School

I had the pleasure of inviting Thomas Williams to speak to my high school students as part of a Speaker Series event, where we regularly invite role-models individuals from the community to speak to older, most at-risk youth at a school that serves kids with significant emotional and behavior issues. The hope of the Speaker Series event is to introduce our kids to people, who like them, have endured hardships, and who in spite of adversity, have achieved some degree of personal and professional success. The goal is to provide some degree of hope, guidance, and inspiration for our kids who oftentimes feel hopeless, alone in the world, and are unsure about what their futures hold. Thomas definitely stands out as one of the most exceptional speakers that we’ve had the pleasure of hosting. His talk exceeded my expectations in his ability to engage even our most difficult students and in delivering a message of empowerment, positivity, and hope. Thomas’ energy is infectious, his message is encouraging and inspiring, and his delivery is powerful and sincere. Thomas elicited a strong emotional response from both our students and staff that has been unparalleled. Despite having achieved fame and success as a college athlete and former NFL player, Thomas remains humble and his story is relatable. Thomas undoubtedly left an indelible impression as a speaker and far surpassed our expectations.

Analise Barker

Learning Specialist
Student Athlete Academic Services

I had the privilege of hearing Thomas speak at a conference for professionals who work with collegiate student-athletes. The passion Thomas exuded was contagious and kept the entire room engaged. Although we are in the trenches with student-athletes, sometimes seven days a week, Thomas was able to provide his much-needed perspective and insight about the mentality and needs of student-athletes. Providing a different framework for how to approach the topic of life after sport has sparked many thought-provoking discussions between myself and the student-athletes with whom I work. Speaking with Thomas one-on-one, he took a genuine interest in my story and the work that I do. I will continue using Thomas’ words and resources in order to better prepare student-athletes for what comes next.

Thomas R. Williams - Speaker, Author, NFL Player Engagement Ambassador and Philanthropist at Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation

Courtney Balson-Madden

Director, Stewardship
Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation

The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is fortunate to call Thomas Williams a friend and advocate of our mission to Honor Marines by Educating Their Children. On 1 August 2018, Thomas spoke to 60 children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen about the importance of maximizing their full potential and recognizing their dreams. He left our students motivated and energized as they continue forward in their pursuit of their post-secondary education.

Thomas’ personal story of determination and grit resonated with our students who have all made sacrifices as the children of our Nation’s finest- it’s Marines and Navy Corpsmen. The Scholarship Foundation looks forward to continuing our partnership with Thomas for many years to come, and thank him for his time, talent, and energy!

Sharease Beaudet

People Operations

As the event planner for the meeting, I must say it was an absolute pleasure working with Thomas and his team! Thomas made a point to understand what our objective was for the meeting and he nailed it!! I had underestimated the amount of time for our agenda and I had an hour that needed to be filled. Thomas could see the panic on my face and asked “What do you need me to do?” my reply was “I need you to fill an extra hour of time talking.” He looked at me with a big smile and said “Absolutely, I got this for you!” He saved the meeting and no one had any idea that he was not supposed to speak that long. He even finished the meeting with a Q&A that was awesome!! I can’t thank Thomas enough!!!

Lisa Szabo

Senior Director of Human Resources

Thomas R. Williams was the executive session speaker at Biola University's Staff Development Conference. He shared with our high level administrators “What the best do better,”motivating them to be better team coaches and team players. He was fantastic and received some of our highest ratings. Those who attended commented, “Very practical and personal. Can’t wait to take this to my team." “Exceptional motivation, content, and interaction with those who attended.” And that Thomas was, “Prepared, likeable, professional, but personable, inspiring and gifted.”

Miki Turner

Assistant Professor of Professional Practice
USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism

Thomas R. Williams is a captivating and engaging speaker who has the ability to impact lives. Every word he speaks, every gesture he makes, resonates with those who are fortunate enough to Interact with him personally and professionally. He’s the truth.

John Mosbach

Associate Athletic Director/Director C.A.T.S. Academics
University of Arizona

I was fortunate to watch Thomas put his passion for helping student-athletes and youth to work while employed at USC. He presented in the summer personal development workshops that kept the students engaged and enlightened on an array of topics. I was impressed to the extent that when I became the Director of C.A.T.S. Academics at the University of Arizona, one of my first calls was to Thomas asking if we could get him to campus to speak to our student-athletes. He was able to do so this fall, covering social media and image in our freshman success course. As always, Thomas was impressive with his well-researched material, contagious energy, and dynamic presence. Incorporated in this was Thomas's personal, athletic, and professional background, which allowed him to unabashedly relate to a niche population with humility and poise. His purposeful message sets the standard for the holistic, high-achieving student-athlete. Our student-athletes and staff were thankful Thomas was able to come to campus and we hope to have him back in the near future. I would highly recommend Thomas to anyone looking for a speaker who can cover a diverse spectrum of topics in a relatable and impactful manner.

Ronnie Lott

14-Year NFL Veteran & USC Trojan

Thomas R. Williams has the professional expertise and leadership qualities to motivate any team. He leads by being the example of strong character, distinguishing him between words and actions.

Ken Norton Jr.

3x Super Bowl Champion, Oakland
Raiders Defensive Coordinator

Thomas R. Williams - the Master of Body and Mind... Smart, tough reliable... As good as it gets...creates the vision and lives the life... Works hard! Plays hard...Playmaker! On and off the field.... Was the Hitman now a business man...Looking good, feeling good. a bounce in his step and a smile on his face!

Rikki Garcia

Tolleson Union HS

It was such an honor to have Thomas come to speak to our High School Students. His passionate energy, authentic personality, and positive light really moved and inspired the students to think about their futures. As an Educator what really touched my heart the most were the student’s responses to Thomas. Some thanked him for “saving them time” and others hugged him as though he had given them an answer to their internal doubts. I would definitely recommend Thomas to any organization or school. He will bring just what you need to positively impact any life.

Donald DeDonatis III

CEO, USSSA

USSSA hosted Thomas Williams as the keynote speaker for our annual convention in 2022. We are a sports-sanctioning body whose annual convention services our Directors, that host youth and adult sports around the country representing the USSSA brand.

Thomas brought energy, excitement, and unity to his message to support our convention theme of Success Through Synergy as we work internally to get our team together in every facet.

With Thomas’ professionalism and delivery, I would recommend him as a keynote for any company, sports team, or group of people hoping to be brought together by the power of words. His first-hand experience and tenacious attitude will lead him far into speaking engagements.

Brad Horner

Southern California McDonald’s Franchisee

Thomas has a type of x-ray vision that allows him to see through the surface of what a company is/does and understand its inner workings, processes, and most importantly, the PEOPLE who make it all happen. His presentation targets people as professionals as well as human beings. It will engage, motivate and inspire your future leaders.

Steve McFarlane

Partner, The Platinum Group, Realtors

Thomas spoke at one of our company events and did a fantastic job. The content was deep and well received, and Thomas has a gift to bring the content alive through personal stories and an emotional connection that very few speakers can achieve with large groups. I would highly recommend Thomas to any business or non-profit leader looking to bring more depth, purpose, and connection to their leadership team or companies as a whole.

Mike Ryan

Chief Operating Officer
Troon Golf LLC

"We had the recent opportunity to engage Thomas at our Global Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. Starting from the initial planning stages to the actual execution of the presentation he was the consummate professional. He took the time to study our business and tailored his discussion around the points that were relevant to our team. His enthusiasm was evident and he was successful and capturing the attention of our audience. The feedback post our conference has been extremely positive and I would highly recommend Thomas for future speaking engagements. A true pleasure to work with. !!”

Jill Wesley

Science + Soul of Speaking ™

Your keynote was truly inspiring. Your energy filled the room and kept everyone engaged and connected. Your story about finding your purpose really made us laugh and think deeply. We all struggle with these questions and athletes and corporate execs will appreciate your clear takeaways. I’m taking your lessons and applying them right away. I’ll be looking for my “Todds” so I can model their behavior and create my own success. Thanks for making the event so special

John Campbell

VP, Sales and Marketing

I have asked the attendees for feedback on the meeting that Thomas attended. I have received outstanding comments and feel that our investment in Thomas was money well spent. He has great command and presence and conveys unbridled enthusiasm.

I look forward to hiring him again in the future.

Kristie Gong

Student Outreach Director
Alliance for Women in Media, Sacramento

“Engaging, educational, empowering: that’s Thomas Williams. As keynote of the 2018 Sacramento Student Media Day, Thomas was our featured speaker to over 200 students and teachers. His story resonated with his audience: hard work pays off! This message was a key theme for the day, as students learned the many different career paths of the media industry and the hard work it takes to reach their goals. Thomas’ speech held the attention of Kindergarteners to Adults, as he spoke with intention, humor, and overall motivation. We are proud to have a hometown hero like Thomas to represent this unique event.”

Jenny Salberg

Principal
Thurston Middle School

As a middle school principal, it can be challenging to find the best motivational speaker to inspire our students with a positive and lasting message . For Thurston Middle School Thomas R. WIlliams was the ABSOLUTE best inspirational speaker for our students. His unique ability to connect with a wide variety of students on an individual level is truly an testament to his character. Mr. Williams is bright, thoughtful, funny and his positive energy is contagious and has already created an impact on this campus that will last a lifetime! Thank you for taking the time to be a positive, engaging integral part of our campus. We LOVED having you here.

Timothy Denton

Financial Guide

Thomas was a featured speaker at the annual conference hosted by our firm at the Ritz Carlton. The attendees entered the room with diverse backgrounds and experience in our industry. He took the time to understand our line of work and the challenges that are faced on a daily basis. During his time with our firm, he related the challenges and lessons that he has learned to inspire and motivate the advisors at the firm. His theme of “What the best do better than everyone else” shared stories about his time on and off the football field and what it takes to achieve success. It was a pleasure working with him and we look forward to an expanding relationship in the future.

Chelsea Schaap

Senior Credit Controller

If you are looking for a nationally known name, but a genuine and humble man, Thomas R. Williams is your man! He came with a motivating, engaging and inspiring message on perspective and how that affects you in the workplace. It was relevant and relateable from top managers to employees. The highlight of our time with him though will be the time he spent afterwards mingling, sharing and speaking 1:1 to many of our staff. He was down to earth and approachable for all!. Thomas could read the phone book and I would be engaged and attentive, he is that good!

Thomas E. Fautrel

- Partner
AAMS, CRPC, CRPS

I have seen many speakers over the years and none have compared to Thomas. Thomas was absolutely dynamic and left my team motivated and focused! I can’t wait to have him back.

Attila Morgan

Community Engagement Manager
Nuvision Credit Union

We host a financial literacy/mentoring program for high school students. As soon as Thomas heard that we were looking for mentors to assist with our program, he jumped right in and made himself available to speak before hundreds of students at multiple workshops. Thomas was able to really connect with the students by sharing his real-life experiences that captured their attention which encouraged them to think seriously about their finances and how to develop good habits with managing their money. Thomas shares in our passion for educating teens on the importance of learning about money, how it functions, why to save it and how to make it work for their benefit. He was also instrumental in helping us create a promotional video about our program that will help us to reach more teens and raise awareness of the need for financial literacy in our schools. Thomas has a big heart for giving back to the community, especially youth and young adults, and it was an extreme pleasure to have him be such a huge part of our program. I hope to have more opportunities in the future to work with him to help make a positive difference in the lives of our youth.

Coach Pete Carroll

USC Football Head Coach (2000-2009),
Seattle Seahawks Head Coach

Thomas has amazing charisma and is a big influence on those around him. Because of his background and hard-working nature, he supplies special insights and unique perspectives in all situations. We all look forward to watching him continue to progress toward his very bright future.

Magdi El Shahawy

Senior Associate Athletic Director
University of Southern California

We had Thomas R. Williams conduct 5 personal development workshop sessions for our student athletes during the summer and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a dynamic individual who can connect to college students, particular student athletes about the importance of having a game plan for life after college. Thomas did an outstanding job conveying the importance of preparing for the future and life after sports while our student athletes are still in school. His personal story resonated well with our students and he was able to fully connect with everyone in the room, grab their attention, and get them to fully participate in his sessions. Thomas’ basic themes focus on identity, transferable skills, relationship development, and social media etiquette during his sessions with our students. The feedback from our student athletes was outstanding and many expressed wanting to maintain a relationship with Thomas as a mentor moving forward. We plan on bringing Thomas back in future summers as well as incorporate him into some of our personal development programs during the regular academic year moving forward.

Dina Sri Wahyuni

Indonesian Human Resource Summit Committee Member

Thomas was one of the keynote speakers at the 13th Indonesia HR Summit 2023. He was very motivating and spiritful during the presentation, where he maintained the enthusiasm of more than 1000 audience members even though his session was held after the lunch break.

His inspiring journey was remarkable and motivated all the audience members to be bold, taking action without fear. It was a very successful session, and Thomas was truly inspiring!

Dan Connell

President, Chairman of the Board and CEO

We recently invited Thomas to facilitate a Power of Positive Leadership workshop for 85 of our company’s top members of leadership. His message was very powerful and motivational in terms of building a strong, positive culture, leading with optimism, and developing a connected team. His workshop received outstanding feedback from the participants, who appreciated Thomas’s energy and message along with the practical tools he provided us to be positive leaders, which ultimately will help us achieve our business goals.

Dr. Veronica Kortan

Assistant Superintendent for leadership and innovation

The Power of a Positive Team is allowing us to enhance the culture in our district. Leaders in our district now have a framework for creating synergy around a common purpose, and our training has provided each of our leaders with a clear path to building and maintaining the highest level of effectiveness within their teams. Perhaps the most significant outcome of our leadership series is that it enabled us to communicate a common set of standards around connection with others and reminded us that the caliber of our connection with people will determine the organizational commitment to the purpose.

Tom Frew

CEO, Green Hills Memorial

Green Hills was looking for the right person to lead us in redesigning our company culture, and we found Thomas! His presentation on the Power of Positive Leadership exceeded expectations. Through breakouts and fun exercises, Thomas quickly had the entire team engaged and interacting with each other. For us, it was more than just a few hours during the workshop. He wanted to get to know us; experience our environment during visits and Zoom meetings well in advance. He immediately inspired us that leading with Love and Positivity as our guiding values will be the foundation of the culture we want to become.

Mike Karmilowicz

President and CEO, Everest Insurance

I had the pleasure of working closely with Thomas R. Williams, and I must say his enthusiasm and passion for positive leadership are truly inspiring and insightful. He brought a vibrant energy to every meeting, motivating the entire insurance leadership team to strive for excellence.

Thomas played a pivotal role in helping the Everest Insurance team build strong trust among its members, fostering an environment of open and honest communication and collaboration. Through his guidance, the team became more effective and connected, making well-informed decisions and achieving remarkable results. His ability to lead with empathy and understanding made him an exceptional mentor and coach. Thomas' dedication to empowering others has left a lasting impact on both individuals and the organization.

I highly recommend working with Thomas, as his genuine commitment to positivity and growth creates a remarkable and uplifting atmosphere for everyone involved.

Cody Wager

Deputy Chief- Pueblo Police Dept.

Thomas Williams with the Jon Gordon Team was originally brought in to present at our annual staff retreat for all supervisors. To my knowledge, the Jon Gordon Team has had very little experience training law enforcement, therefore I warned Thomas that law enforcement is a challenging crowd to present to! Thomas knocked it out of the park! His enthusiasm and positivity are infectious, and he was able to get participation from everyone. The material is exceptional and relevant regardless of your profession. Thomas’ message was so well received, the command staff arranged for him to deliver this message to all sworn and civilian personnel! I truly believe the “Power of Positive Leadership” will be integral in the future culture at our department and I can’t thank him enough! Feed the positive dog!