Hello!
My name is Thomas. I’m a macro social worker focused on poverty alleviation and ending homelessness. I’m a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Office of Special Needs. Previously, I was the lead for the Champaign County Continuum of Service Providers to the Homeless. All the opinions on this site are mine alone.
Work
I work on things like homelessness, data policy, housing standards, artificial intelligence in human services, and more.
Research
While my days of academics are (for now) over, I’ve been fascinated by Erving Goffman’s 1967 On Facework since 2014. Interaction’s between people and systems is a major interest.
I used Goffman’s Facework theory as framework for my first piece of published research when I was an undergra
Fellowship
I’m nearing the end of my time as a 2022 PMF. PMF is a two-year leadership development program administered by the US OPM.
Previously, I was a Fellow at the Field Foundation of Illinois, as well as one of the inaugural Community Data Fellows at the University of Chicago Data Science Institute.
Photography
I like taking pictures! I have a Nikon F4 and an FG-20. I take most of my pictures in black & white with Ilford FP4+ 125 and develop at home in Ilfosol 3. You can see pictures on my Flickr or instagram.
Reading
I read a lot! Typically speculative fiction and non-fiction. You can see my reviews on my Goodreads.
Movies
I love movies, but I’m also kind of a snob. You can read my reviews over on my Letterboxd.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Teddy Roosevelt
In my first casework job, I had this quote printed out and taped next to my desk.
I still think about it a lot.