Jeffrey S. Thomas

Mr. Thomas is the Director of the Acquisition and Grants Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Thomas served as Deputy Director of AGO for two years before stepping in as Acting Director and transitioning to his current position. Mr. Thomas began his federal service in the contracting field in 1988 when he joined the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Like many entering the contracting profession, his early duties included a wide range of responsibilities, although most of his assignments centered on supporting a wide range of transportation research programs. He became a contracting officer in 1990 and continued to serve in this capacity for nearly 9 years, managing a progressively more complex portfolio of programs. Mr. Thomas then transitioned to roles in the acquisition policy arena with FHWA. His areas of responsibility included development and implementation of Agency policy and procedures, data reporting/analysis, automated acquisition systems, business process improvement, and managing program budgets. During his tenure, he led the implementation of new automated acquisition and invoicing systems, and supported a number of re-organization activities.

In 2010, Mr. Thomas joined the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, Office of the Senior Procurement Executive as the Associate Director, Acquisition Policy, Oversight, and Business Strategies. In this role, he led the management of departmental acquisition policy, oversight, departmental reporting activities for OMB and Congress, and provided support to the Department’s Acquisition Strategy Review Board. He also served as the department’s Acquisition Career Manager and as the departmental representative to the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council.

Mr. Thomas graduated from George Mason University (1988) with a B.S. in Public Administration. He obtained a Master's of Public Administration (Procurement and Contracting) from the George Washington University in 1994. Mr. Thomas completed the Federal Executive Institute’s “Leadership for Democratic Society” program in 2012, and holds a Level III Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting. He is a member of the federal Senior Executive Service.

Although Mr. Thomas was born in New Jersey, he was reared and currently resides in Virginia. He is a member of the National Contract Management Association and is active in a number of youth sports and civic organizations in his community. Mr. Thomas is married and has two adult children.