Joel Gregory Thomas

Joel is Senior Director of URI’s Economic Empowerment program, responsible for developing and overseeing services to help domestic violence survivors and  homeless families achieve sustainable employment with jobs of the future.

Joel has 20 years of experience in the federal, non-profit, commercial, and state government space, and has provided numerous workforce development solutions to meet business and public policy objectives. As the Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives at the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Joel led sector strategies, grant vendor oversight, adult literacy, and employment and training opportunities for special populations.  During his tenure at SourceAmerica, he led strategic business development and training for the federal procurement program AbilityOne.gov, the largest source of employment for people with disabilities. He has also led efforts to create career pathways for the opportunity youth and college students. After teaching English in Japan for 2 years, Joel led small business development efforts and the management of labor contracts with several federal agencies. He is also an adjunct assistant professor at Ocean County College.

Joel has a Bachelor’s degree from Bradford College, and received his MA in International Communication from American University.