Thomas has 18 years of global experience in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector with expertise in market-based WASH programs, sanitation as a business, and supporting WASH systems in complex socio-political and humanitarian contexts, including emergency response situations. Thomas has supported programs in over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America leading the design, implementation, and monitoring of WASH programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development, European Union, and other international donors. Thomas spent over eight years with Oxfam supporting humanitarian and developmental WASH programs, serving as the global lead for market-based WASH programming and prior to that as regional WASH advisor in both East Africa and Asia. His experience includes providing technical assistance on infrastructure projects in refugee camps and urban areas, leading analyses to identify market development opportunities, and developing public and private sector partnerships to evaluate and implement new sanitation products or services. Thomas also co-led the design and partnership development for one of the world’s first outcomes-based funding instruments to increase investment in water and sanitation service providers in Kenya. Thomas also supported the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) where he was the technical advisor to the global portfolio of WASH humanitarian response programs and research projects.   

Thomas is currently the Senior Program Manager of Sanitation at Water For People. He provides guidance and support to over 60 sanitation initiatives across Water For People’s nine country programs and leads the organizational sanitation strategy and research agenda. He also manages the Sanitation Innovation Fund, which is used to test new, innovative solutions to sanitation issues and has financed 20 projects in the last two years with $144,000. Thomas continues to build upon his global experience in WASH to support Water For People’s programs to ensure sanitation solutions are economically viable and sustainable.

Thomas has a Master of Science degree in Water Resources Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural & Biological Systems Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.