Thomas (Tommy) Jones, Ph.D., serves as the External Affairs Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (IE). In this critical role, he works to expand the Office’s external engagement and communications and serves as the staff lead on the Indian Country Energy and Infrastructure Working Group (ICEIWG).
Tommy—an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Naknek Native Village, as well as a Native shareholder of Bristol Bay Native Corporation of Alaska—recently served as a DOE Tribal Affairs Specialist. In that role, he worked directly with Tribes to overcome challenges to energy access, economic development, and community wellbeing. In addition to serving as a representative to ICEIWG, Tommy also served as the IE staff lead for the DOE Tribal Engagement Steering Committee (TESC), and a key point of contact for the Executive Secretariat.
With more than a decade of experience at IE, Tommy’s career journey is a testament to the Office’s workforce development priorities. He began his tenure with IE in 2014 as a Sandia National Laboratories intern, steadily advancing within the Office before ultimately achieving his current position as External Affairs Manager.
Tommy holds bachelor’s degrees in both biology and Spanish from Oklahoma City University, a master's degree in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science from University of Hawaii at Hilo, and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources and American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona.