TERRY L. FOSSUM — LONG BIO (≈300 words)

Terry L. Fossum is a #1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, a globally-ranked TEDx speaker whose talk was ranked the #2 New TEDx Talk in the World, and a former Captain in the United States Air Force. He is the winner of Fox's prime-time network reality competition Kicking & Screaming (2017), and a longtime leader within the Boy Scouts of America, where he currently serves as President and Chairman of the Endowment of the Inland Northwest Council.

Terry was born in Mission, Texas, and raised in McAllen — part of a Texas border-region metropolitan area repeatedly ranked among the poorest in the United States. He attended Texas A&M University, where the Corps of Cadets named him Cadet Major in a position created specifically for him. He served as Executive Officer of the 92d Operations Group flying nuclear B-52s out of Fairchild Air Force Base during the Cold War, where he was named Officer of the Year. The Strategic Air Command later named him Humanitarian of the Year.

His four books — all published by his own house, Raidho Publishing — are The Oxcart Technique (#1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller), Never Miss a Goal Again, Throw Away the Box, and The S.I.M.P.L.E. Guide to Public Speaking. He has delivered more than 1,500 keynote engagements and helped raise millions of dollars from the platform. He has also worked as an actor, earning Best Supporting Actor and Fan Favorite honors at the Christian Film Festival in 2021 for his role in Agape.

Today Terry's primary work is from the stage. His signature keynote, Throw Away the Box, helps leadership teams, associations, and corporations reinvent before AI and disruption do it for them. He lives in Spokane Valley, Washington, with his wife and three stepsons.
