Tyler McCusker

Tyler graduated from Chapman University with a self-designed degree in Multimedia Journalism in 2011. During and after college, he worked at KEARTH 101, HOT 92.3, and KIIS FM in Los Angeles before becoming the night personality on 93.7 KCLB in Palm Springs. Later, he moved to afternoons on Crush 1039 and hosted a weekly entertainment news segment on CBS Local 2. In 2012, Tyler founded KX FM 104.7 (formerly KX 93.5) in Laguna Beach, CA. He served as General Manager of the station for 10 years and has hosted music and talk shows in all dayparts. KX FM is the first licensed radio station in Laguna Beach's history, a distinction for which Tyler won the Laguna Beach "Community Hero Award." Over a decade, Tyler and the KX FM team grew the station to be the most successful LPFM in the country; one of few that receives annual funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Last year, Tyler transitioned from radio to focus primarily on podcasting by launching Foundwave, a podcast production and distribution company centered on creating narrative and docuseries-style shows. He was recently named one of the "40 Under 40" by Podcast Magazine and “Distinguished Alumni” by his alma mater. His most recent work is CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam, produced in collaboration with the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. At FORGE, he is looking forward to being in the room with Southern Arizona's next changemakers and disrupters! Tyler hopes to be able to provide value to start-ups by aiding with mixed-media content and storytelling strategies.