Najmah Thomas, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at USCB. I am a full-time faculty member for the Human Services Program, which encompasses both the residential/on-campus and the Palmetto College Online degree completion programs. I am also the faculty member for African American Studies. My research agenda includes social and economic equity with a focus on program evaluation practices, at-risk youth programs, and public policies impacting underrepresented populations to include the Gullah/Geechee community.

I earned a BA in Public Policy at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va., a Masters of Adult Education and Distance Learning from the University of Phoenix, and a PhD in Public Policy and Administration, with a concentration in urban policy, at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.

I served as Program Manager at the Crater Regional Workforce Investment Board from 2000 to 2005, then as Deputy Director from 2005 to 2007. The board works to increase employment opportunities for individuals, businesses and industry throughout the area it serves.

In 2007, I joined the Cameron Foundation as a Senior Program Officer. In 2009, I was appointed Director of Capacity Building. The Cameron Foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes community and economic development in south central Virginia.

In 2011, I was appointed a Policy Planning Specialist for the Virginia Community College System. A year later, I was promoted to statewide Administrator of Workforce Investment Act Programs.

In August of 2014, I joined the faculty at USCB in my present position.

I am an author of two articles in scholarly publications and have three manuscripts in progress. I  participated or served as the moderator at multiple conferences and workshops throughout the country.

Over the course of my career, my work has generated grants and contracts totaling more than $1.5 million.

I was named a Southeastern Council of Foundations Hull Fellow in 2009. The Southeastern Council of Foundations is one of the nation's largest regional association of grant makers. It serves more than 330 foundations and corporate giving programs in the South. I have been the keynote speaker at the Virginia Career Coach Academy and the Commencement Address speaker at Fortis College, Richmond. In February of 2013, I received the Living Legacy Award from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. I am also a 2017 Fellow with the Institute for African American Research at the University of South Carolina.