Deborah Thomas was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for the Department of Energy (DOE) Inspections, Intelligence Oversight, and Special Projects in May 2023. In this role, Ms. Thomas oversees the planning, execution, and reporting for all inspections and special projects, and oversees the OIG Hotline and Whistleblower operations. Prior to this role, Ms. Thomas served in several other positions in the OIG, including as a Director for Audits and Inspections and an Audit Team Leader. Prior to this, she worked at Energy Northwest, the Northwest’s only operating nuclear power plant, as the Executive Board’s Auditor, then in Supply Chain as the Contracts Supervisor.
Ms. Thomas has received numerous awards for her work over her more than 20-year career in the DOE OIG, including an Intelligence Community Inspectors General Collaboration Award, numerous Awards for Excellence (Council of Inspectors General on Integrity & Efficiency) and OIG awards for an OIG Cross-Cutting Project, Project of the Year, Team Leader of the Year, two OIG Collaboration Awards, and more.
Ms. Thomas graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in Psychology and Sociology, then returned to the University of Idaho to focus on Accounting. She earned her MBA from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and holds professional designations as a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor. Ms. Thomas is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute’s “Leadership for a Democratic Society.”