Thomas brings over a decade of international development experience to ABA ROLI, including special expertise in peace negotiations, transitional justice, and strengthening the rule of law in post-conflict states. Encompassing project management, business development, and technical roles, Thomas's career to date features both short- and long-term assignments with the UN, multiple USAID programs, and international NGOs in conflict and post-conflict states across Asia and Latin America.
While completing graduate study, Thomas led a team in securing University of Oxford and the Royal Geographic Society funding to research indigenous justice--and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in particular--along the Thailand-Myanmar border. He went on to help China-based rights NGOs and the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials (UNAKRT) maximize the effectiveness of their outreach and advocacy campaigns, among other assignments, before founding his own consulting outfit, Strata Conflict Consulting. Under the auspices of Strata, Thomas's long-term engagements include co-authoring Fighting Serious Crimes: Strategies and Tactics for Conflict-Affected Societies, a United States Institute of Peace (USIP) publication endorsed by the national security advisor; and, during nearly four years supporting the Colombian peace process, coaching commanders in the Colombian police's Special Peacebuilding Unit on the fundamentals of negotiation and mediation. During this same period, Thomas also served as reporting manager and performed a range of business development functions, including leading capture and proposal writing efforts, for multiple USAID implementing partners.
Thomas holds an MSc in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Oxford, where he focused on transitional justice in the Southern Cone; and a BA in psychology from Vassar College, magna cum laude. He is also a mediator certified in accordance with M.G.L. ch.233 & 23C (Massachusetts) and a graduate of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard's negotiation diploma course. Fluent in both English and Spanish, his analysis of conflict- and justice-related issues has appeared in both languages in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and Vice, among other media outlets.