Tom Willner

Speaker, Educator

Get tickets to my upcoming show

Musician

Composer, Playwright

Get tickets to my upcoming show

Technology Director

Georgia State University

Get tickets to my upcoming show

Cancer survivor, Runner

How can I help you?

Get tickets to my upcoming show

What i do

Speaker, Performer, Educator

As a cancer survivor and musician, I share my story and perform original music for organizations and charities, and at various types of conferences and events. I am a TEDx Speaker, and I also do speaking engagements about my work in technology.

Musician, Composer, Playwright

I write, record, and perform music, and have done so for film, TV, video, and musical theater. I have released several albums, I am a published songwriter, and I wrote a musical about my experience with cancer.

Technology Director

I enjoy bringing people and systems together to solve problems. I work at Georgia State University, using high tech and high touch to help our students succeed.

Author

I wrote a book about my experience with cancer called "Having a Ball at Thirty: How I Got Through Cancer by Writing a Musical." I also have an article published in a cancer journal.

“AMAZING! The play was brilliant!”
“Best class EVER!!!”
“Innovative…Thank you for bringing this to us!”

IMG_9617
Audience Feedback
Classes

“Wow. Thank you so much for putting this into the conference schedule. I sure learned a lot and will spend time thinking about this perspective when I get back to work. Powerful presentation. Great speaker and music.”

IMG_3973b
Audience Feedback
Keynotes
“Always open to entertaining new ideas and creative solutions”
“Keeps things in perspective, offers alternative viewpoints”
“Willing to stretch beyond where technology was to make us a better team and organization”
“Upbeat, energetic, creative and focused”
Tom-Willner-20170502-IMG_0284
Colleagues

About Me

I love to solve problems. Whether it’s a problem with things or people, if you give me something that’s broken or dysfunctional, I’ll do everything I can to fix it. 

In order to do that, I need to be able to figure things out. I guess that’s why I geek out over data, and I love education. It’s what I love about working in higher education and at Georgia State University in particular. 

I am also a big fan of the arts – the “A” in STEAM. I am fascinated by science, technology, and math, and I’m an engineer by training. But music was my first love. I have been a musician since I was five, and I love composing and performing music.

In fact, when I became a cancer survivor, I wrote a musical about my experience. I have used my musical to teach healthcare workers about the patient experience and clinical empathy. I continue to use my stories and music to help others learn through arts experiences.

Personally, I am so fortunate to be married to an amazing woman and to be the father of three wonderful kids. My family is the most important part of my life. I also love to run. Long-distance running is my meditation –  helping both my physical and mental well being – and it taught me that the key to achieving success comes one step at a time combined with a strong dedication to the finish line.

There you have it. That’s me in a nutshell. If I can be of service to you or your organization, I would love to hear from you. 

Latest POSTS

See all posts