Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, since 2003 and hosted a nightly television show, The Big Picture, between 2010 and 2017. Early life Hartmann was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, one of four children of Jean and Carl Thomas Hartmann. His paternal grandparents were from Norway, and his other ancestry includes Welsh and English. He lived in Detroit at age two, and later grew up in Lansing, Michigan. Interested in politics from a young age, he was raised in a conservative, Midwestern household with a right-wing point of view. He campaigned with his staunch-Republican father for Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential election when he was thirteen. Although a "gifted" student, Hartmann was expelled from high school during tenth grade for starting a paper that protested the Vietnam War. He later earned a GED. Hartmann enrolled at Lansing Community College and transferred to Michigan State University, majoring in electrical engineering. In 1968, Hartmann opened his first business, a repair shop named "The Electronics Joint" located next to Michigan State University and became a part-time disc jockey at local country music station WITL-FM. With Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Hartmann protested against the Vietnam War. Hartmann had been interested in consciousness and spirituality since childhood, and by 1969 his interest evolved from hippie subculture to Christian mysticism. During that year, he met the head of the Coptic Center, Master Stanley. In 1971 he was ordained as a Minister with Coptic Fellowship International. He has been a keynote speaker at many Coptic Conferences nationally. In 1973, Hartmann returned to Detroit to work as an engineer with RCA. Business career Hartmann began his business career in the early 1970s while in his 20s, co-founding The Woodley Herber Company. Woodley Herber sold herbal products, potpourris and teas, and operated until 1978. During this time, Hartmann obtained three degrees in herbology and homeopathic medicine. Hartmann moved to New Hampshire to start The New England Salem Children's Village, which still operates in Rumney, New Hampshire. He was its Executive Director for five years, and on the board of directors for more than 25 years. NESCT's child-care model was based on the German Salem International organization, and through his affiliation with that group, he helped start international relief programs