Charles Thomas Jr.

Thomas was born in Flint, Michigan and attended Powers Catholic High School, graduating in 1998. Thomas played varsity basketball and served as co-captain of the team in high school. He helped his team make state semifinals in 1997 and regional finals in 1998. Thomas has said that growing up in Flint was a brilliant upbringing.

Thomas attended University of Notre Dame, on academic and athletic scholarships, where he played as point guard and shooting guard on the varsity basketball team. He was a two-time Big East Academic All-Star team member.

He was chosen as the recipient of the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student Athlete Award and the NAACP Senior of the Year in 2002.

Thomas earned his Master of Business Administration from University of Texas at San Antonio in 2007, a master’s degree in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from Creighton University in 2009; and a Doctorate of Education in Leadership Studies from Creighton University in 2014. While pursuing his doctoral degree, Thomas was inducted into the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society in February 2013. Thomas worked as a full-time project leader at a government consulting firm in Tysons, VA. He currently works as Vice President of organizational effectiveness and people operations for Data Intelligence Inc. He serves as Chairman of the Board for Opportunities, Alternatives and Resources (OAR) of Fairfax County, Inc, and teaches life-skills classes to incarcerated men who are preparing for re-entry into society.

He also works as an Adjunct Assistant Professorof Organizational Behavior at University of Maryland University College. He speaks to audiences on a variety of topics across the country. In February 2017, he presented on a panel about community involvement and philanthropy as part of the Future Fund at The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia's Giving Back Seminars.

Thomas published his first work of creative nonfiction, Scars, Exile & Vindication: My Life as an Experiment in 2012. His second work, Breakthrough: Stories of Resilience, Tragedy, and Triumph, was published in May 2017.

Thomas is the former Treasurer of the Board of Directors for Leadership Fairfax, a nonprofit professional leadership development organization. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for OAR of Fairfax County. He also volunteers as a Wish Granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In 2015 and 2016, he served as a member of the Future Fund’s leadership committee, a giving circle of young professionals at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia.

Books

• Scars, Exile, & Vindication: My Life as an Experiment. 2012 ISBN 978-1618623669
• Breakthrough: Stories of Resilience, Tragedy, and Triumph. 2017 ISBN 978-1512783520

Articles

• "Leadership Starts in the Home" Creighton University.
• "Education is Key" Living Education eMagazine. Winter 2013
• "I Am Trayvon Martin" Living Education eMagazine. Fall 2013
• "You Call Yourself a Leader? Here's What a Follower Thinks" Association for Talent Development. June 13, 2014
• "Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Responses to Organizational Change" Supervision Magazine. March 2014
• "Anyone Can Attain Power" Association for Talent Development. June 15, 2015

Interviews

• "Meet the Young Philanthropists" Northern Virginia Magazine. April 14, 2016
• "For Dr. Charles Thomas Jr., there is no Plan B" Powers Catholic High School Spring/Summer 2016

Podcasts

• Divergent Thought on BLIS.FM

• 2015 Emerging Influential Leader of the Year Award from Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce
• 2015 National 40 Under 40 Honoree from The Network Journal
• 2015 Alpha Sigma Nu Magis Medal Winner
• 2015 Northern Virginia Trustee Leadership Award from Leadership Fairfax
• 2016 Outstanding Service to the Community Award from Creighton University

Thomas lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two children.