Thomas Debass serves as Managing Director of the Office of Global Partnerships (GP) at the U.S. Department of State. Thomas is responsible for coordinating the Department’s private sector engagement efforts and providing thought leadership on partnerships related to economic growth, global finance, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Thomas has played a leading role in promoting and institutionalizing the role of public-private partnerships as a tool for advancing foreign policy and development objectives. He regularly gives lectures and talks about the intersection of policy, business, and society.
Prior to joining the State Department, he was Lead Economist/Deputy Director in the Office of Investment Policy with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Thomas also served as a senior technical advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Prior to his development finance and public-private partnerships career, Thomas worked on agricultural research projects in South Asia and East Africa.
Thomas is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a master’s degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics and a bachelor’s in Economics. He also has an Executive Certificate in International Business Management from Georgetown, an Executive Leadership Certificate from UC-Berkeley, and Certificate in Futures Thinking and Strategic Foresight from Institute for The Future. Thomas is a 2020 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals Finalist and a recipient of the 2016 D&DA Wood Pencil Award for Innovative Use of Mobile Technology .