John Thomas joined The Rockefeller Foundation in 2011. As a senior program associate, he managed relationships with current and prospective grantees throughout the grantmaking process, coordinated Foundation work with partners, and conducted research in support of the strategic development and execution of Foundation initiatives. His work at the Foundation focused on revaluing ecosystems, fisheries and aquaculture, water, and agricultural development.
Prior to joining The Rockefeller Foundation, Mr. Thomas led a team of designers, engineers, business students, and scientists to develop innovative sanitation solutions that met the needs of Cambodia’s rural poor through a partnership with the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and International Development Enterprises – Cambodia (iDE). Previous experience includes research on school-based hand hygiene interventions in Kenya and Uganda with the Davis Group at Stanford University. He has also worked on community based natural resource management in Namibia with Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) and as a member of the leadership team of FACE AIDS, a global youth movement to fight HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Biology from Stanford University with a concentration in Global Public Health and Economic Development, and a Master of Science in Earth Systems from Stanford’s School of Earth Sciences.
Authored Content
Sep 02 2015 Blog Post Fishermen First: Protecting the People Behind What We Eat The Taste of Summer With only a week of summer left, many of us will load up our beach chairs and don our flip flops for a final excursion to the beaches. Our final taste of summer would be incomplete without a stop at a local seafood shack to savor the delicacies of the sea […]
Mar 18 2014 Blog Post From the Sushi Plate to the Investment Portfolio: Three Ways to Take Action on Ocean Health A version of this post originally appeared on the Huffington Post. The earth isn’t called the “blue marble” for nothing: all life on Earth is linked to our oceans, including the oxygen we breathe, the plants and fish that we eat, and the moderation of weather patterns all around us. Despite their key role, oceans are […]
Feb 12 2014 Blog Post Ocean Health As a Wicked Problem The world’s oceans cover 70 percent of our planet and provide countless benefits to people and societies—food, jobs, recreation, shipping, tourism, natural resources, and climate regulation in addition to their critical role in cultures, traditions, and well-being for those who live on or near coasts. But there is an emerging consensus that our oceans are […]