Joel Thomas, MA

Joel Thomas is the Founder and CEO of SPIN Global, Maryland-based small business that exists to disrupt disasters from neighborhoods to nations by providing comprehensive emergency management, disaster risk management, and homeland security services. 

Since 2003, Mr. Thomas has supported the design and implementation of local, national and multinational emergency management, humanitarian and faith-based initiatives in 50+ countries and in 50 U.S. states and territories. He has supported flagship initiatives of the White House and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Mr. Thomas is an international expert on public-private partnerships and a published researcher, operational coordinator, and a convener of global dialogue focused on the intersection of economic development, emergency management and disaster resilience. Since 2016, Mr. Thomas has served as the Chair of the National Emergency Management Association Private Sector Committee, Information Sharing Task Force, and led publication as principal author of “Building Operational Public Private Partnerships”. He served as a senior subject matter expert contributing to development of national operational guidance titled “Building Private-Public Partnerships Guidance”, by the FEMA National Integration Center. He has provided strategic and programmatic support to FEMA’s Office of Business, Industry and Infrastructure Integration before, during and after disasters. He is a key contributor to the Whole Community Inclusive Economic Recovery Course PER-386 for FEMA’s National Training Program. He serves as a Public-Private Partnership subject matter expert for the Institute for Security Governance, supporting national-level engagements in Ukraine, North Macedonia, Georgia, Serbia and in support of other NATO Allies and Partners. 

His work is rooted in operational experience, as Mr. Thomas served as an urban campus first responder in Washington D.C. at The George Washington University, and has participated in numerous domestic and international response and recovery operations (e.g. COVID19, Hurricane Maria, Thailand/Indonesia Tsunami, Deepwater Horizon, Haiti Earthquake, et al). 

Mr. Thomas is a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Faculty at Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy, where he teaches on the economics of disaster recovery. He previously earned a Masters in Public Administration from The George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Business/Non-Profit Management from Trinity International University. To learn more, you may connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeldavidthomas.