THE BACKSTORY

My arrival into the communications world came at the hands of an unsupervised decision to jump backwards off the roof of my Chula Vista home at the age of 15 for a chance at local television fame. This ill-conceived attempt to get the attention of sports broadcasting legend Paul Rudy would, however, pay off with a live on-air spot in front of all San Diego.

From that experience, I found my calling: to use storytelling as a vehicle to engage, entertain, inform and inspire.

Using the foundation of content production, viewer engagement and relationship building rooted from my time at KUSI-TV, I would go on to kick start my communications career with the San Diego Chargers, culminating with a spot on the Super Bowl XLVIII Public Relations Staff.

For my next major endeavor, I moved from the Southern California sunshine to the Windy City, joining the U.S. Soccer Communications team. Besides cataloging over 72,000 flight miles in one particular 11-month period, which included stops in Panama, Costa Rica, Dubai, India, Japan and South Korea, I worked closely with many of today’s biggest superstars, sharpest coaches and brightest leaders on a daily basis.

In the summer before COVID-19 turned the world turned upside down, I took on the amazing opportunity of helping run all things PR, communications strategy and media relations for the 2019 BIG3 Basketball season that spanned across 17 U.S. markets.

THE PERSON

At my deepest core I am a storytelling facilitator. I enjoy building relationships with those people who have a story to tell as much as I enjoy building relationships with those people who have remarkable storytelling gifts and abilities.

Most importantly, however, I think my best assets are my intangibles. I am a loyal and trustworthy person and my everyday demeanor is goal-oriented and focused. Whether things are going perfectly or not as planned, I always elect to stay calm and even keeled. My strongest belief is that every person should be treated the same, with the utmost respect.

THE QUIRKS

Before they closed down, my go-to restaurant was always Souplantation.

The best tacos I have ever had were at Tacos La Sonrisa.

My favorite animated movie stars Jay Baruchel and Gerard Butler.

If I was stranded on a desert island and could only choose one album to listen to, it would be Songs in the Key of Life.

My favorite pair of shoes: 542244-100

The only TV series I will binge watch is Narcos.

My love–hate relationship with Catan is ongoing.

I am the 5th generation of the Thomas Caughlin namesake.