Thomas Cahir

A communications specialist who learned the trade in a newspaper newsroom, I now use those skills in such diverse fields as non-profit development, labor relations, public relations and most recently as a novelist.

Working as Field Director in my day job, means just that, getting into the field. Meetings with teachers, laborers, nurses, hotel workers, it doesn't matter, I'm there to listen and help facilitate planning and implement strategy.

In recent years to build a brand and promote my book, 9-11 Avenged, I've had to learn how to use social media and gained followings on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms to tease potential readers and drive traffic to the book's website, 9-11avenged.com is a great way to sell books. These skills have also been extremely helpful in organizing at my day job and I'm constantly willing to integrate new technologies and methods in all aspects of both parts of my life to make my life and work easier, even if it's just simple time management.

While at the newspaper I read news, features and sports and while working in sports was part of a team that introduced a new web-based platform that increased online traffic by 400 percent in a year.

Giving back is also important to me and I helped found two separate non-profit organizations, the Michael J. Gonsalves Scholarship Fund at Rhode Island College, serving as co-chairman of the scholarship that became the fastest growing endowment in school history.