Thomas Rollerson always follows his heart rather than his wallet.
In 1989, he gave up his corporate job in sales and marketing to advocate for accessibility to the arts for those with a disability, working as the national company manager and tour director for Access Theater in Santa Barbara. In 1994, Thomas founded The Dream Foundation, the internationally renowned organization that grants end-of-life wishes to the terminally ill and their families. He resigned from that organization in 2014, ready for another challenge.
In person, Thomas is charismatic and charming, but also very direct. As he sits down to lunch, he tells me there are misconceptions of what he’s actually doing, and that he’s been super busy. What is clear of Thomas’s wonderful trajectory is that he’s always being a caregiver.