Contact us
Some lessons stay with us long after we’ve learned them. For Social Driver CEO and co-founder Thomas Sanchez, many of those lessons were planted in the fields of northwest Missouri, where early mornings, long harvest days, and hands-on learning shaped the foundation of how he sees leadership, collaboration, and community today.
Recently, Future Farmers of America (FFA), one of the nation’s most respected youth leadership organizations, featured Thomas in an article that traced the journey from his rural upbringing to leading a digital agency in Washington, D.C. The recognition wasn’t just a look back at his past. It was a reminder of how agricultural communities shape values like responsibility, creativity, and optimism, and how those values further impact modern leadership.
Thomas grew up planting and harvesting corn and soybeans, while balancing school. Those early years full of farm work weren’t just about the responsibilities of farm life, they were lessons. Thomas learned to show up when it was hard and take pride in small steps forward. These lessons led to an overarching belief: what you plant today can grow into something bigger and more meaningful tomorrow.
Those experiences developed the lens through which Thomas sees the world. It is not something we endure, but something we cultivate.
“As a kid, you don’t think of it as leadership training,” Thomas told FFA. “But farming teaches you optimism. Every season, you plant with the belief that something good will grow.”
That is the same approach he brings to Social Driver, where he leads a team that partners with organizations such as the National Farmers Union, Farm Credit Council, Amazon, Starbucks, state agencies, and community-focused nonprofits. Whether the work involves building digital platforms for national associations or designing campaigns that help essential workers feel seen and supported—Thomas remembers the lessons from his Missouri upbringing.
Progress happens when people work together and invest in something bigger than themselves.
Thomas’s connection to FFA runs deeper than nostalgia. As a student, Missouri FFA wasn’t just an extracurricular activity, it was the first place where he learned how to turn curiosity into action.
In his feature, he talked about the practical skills FFA gave him: tracking profit and loss statements for his supervised agricultural experience, selling corn to fund his first trip to Washington, D.C., and learning the value of teamwork through chapter activities and competitions.
“These were some of the first spaces where I learned what it meant to lead by doing,” Thomas said. “FFA gave us permission to experiment, to try things, to step forward.”
The hands-on nature of FFA, from record-keeping to public speaking to agricultural entrepreneurship, helped him understand not only how to solve problems, but how to look for opportunities hidden within them.
Today, Thomas utilizes those early lessons to lead a creative team and guide client partnerships. He’s fostered a culture centered on optimism, acceptance, innovation, and collaboration.
When FFA asked Thomas what principles still shape his work today, he shared five lessons that have stayed with him since those early days in the blue corduroy jacket.
There’s no guarantee with farming.
The costs of farming are significant between machinery, crop seed, machinery, and labor. You plant, you harvest. Sometimes it is a good year, others you yield a poor harvest. There can be droughts and heavy rains. You regroup and try again. Risks are simply a part of farming life.
Thomas carries that forward at Social Driver.
“We don’t hold it against anyone if something doesn’t go as planned,” he said. “Trying is how we learn.”
It’s become a hallmark of his leadership: empowering his team to experiment, evolve, and pursue bold ideas without fear of failure.
Innovation doesn’t need to be radical. We don’t always need to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes it is just about making what works a bit better. Small or incremental progress is just as valuable as sweeping change.
Thomas learned that from years of watching his community refine small processes to improve outcomes season after season.
For him, thinking differently means being willing to challenge assumptions, encourage new perspectives, and approach familiar problems with fresh eyes.
Farmers were among the first to adopt GPS mapping, machine learning insights, and precision agriculture tools. Growing up around people who understood the power of these technologies, without necessarily calling them as such. Witnessing their use shaped Thomas’s belief that the future belongs to those who use digital tools with confidence and creativity.
“Every field today depends on technology,” he said. “Companies of tomorrow need people who understand how to use these tools well.”
That mindset became the backbone of Social Driver’s digital-first approach, integrating technology with storytelling to help organizations connect with the people who matter most.
Creativity wasn’t just about art or design for Thomas. It was about perspective. It was the ability to see the potential in a project, a team, or a community. Even a seed.
“Creativity is about building a mirror so people can see themselves in the brand or mission you’re creating,” he shared with FFA.
That belief is evident across Social Driver’s work, from inclusive digital strategies to human-centered design, ensuring every audience feels reflected and welcomed.
FFA taught Thomas that leadership isn’t learned in theory. It’s learned in action. The capacity to lead is founded on showing up, collaborating, experimenting, and learning from real experience. That lesson shaped his entire approach to building Social Driver, where hands-on collaboration and shared problem-solving are part of the culture.
“Teamwork and hands-on experience are some of the most valuable skills you can bring to your career,” he told FFA. “And they’re the ones I use every single day.”
Thomas’s story is one of steady, grounded growth. From selling corn at local markets to leading national partnerships that help communities thrive, Thomas has proven that leadership doesn’t emerge from titles or a shingle on your office door. It grows from habits, values, curiosity, and care for others.
At Social Driver, we see those lessons reflected in the way Thomas supports his team and leads client partnerships: always with optimism, creativity, and with an eye toward what can grow when people work together.
His feature on FFA.org isn’t just a personal milestone; it’s a celebration of the values that guide our team each day. The same values that drive rural communities, shape young leaders, and strengthen organizations across the country.
We’re proud to see Thomas honored by the organization that helped shape his early journey. And we’re even prouder to carry forward those lessons: optimism, creativity, service, and community—in everything we build.
Read the full article on FFA.org →
