Joel Gregory Thomas

Joel is senior director of the economic empowerment, responsible for economic empowerment programming for domestic violence survivors, and homeless families to 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. At the NJ Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development with a staff of over 90, as the Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives, Joel led sector strategies, grant vendor oversight, adult literacy, and employment and training opportunities for special populations.  Also, he has led strategic business development and training at SourceAmerica, for the federal procurement program, AbilityOne.gov, the largest source of employment for people with disabilities, and he has led efforts 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 an adjunct assistant professor (at Ocean County College) and has a Bachelor’s degree from Bradford College, and received his MA in International Communication from American University.