About
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Thomas Tighe has served as President and CEO of Direct Relief International, a nonprofit humanitarian medical organization, since October 2000. Direct Relief has furnished more than $300 million in privately funded humanitarian medical aid worldwide since Thomas arrival and was named one of Americas Best 100 Charities by Worth magazine and rated by Forbes magazine as one of only four U.S. charities that is 100% efficient. From 1995-2000, he served as Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer of the Peace Corps, overseeing day-to-day operations of the agencys worldwide programs and a resurgent growth of the agency to a 27-year high. Prior to that, Thomas served as Associate General Counsel of the Peace Corps, negotiating bilateral agreements to initiate programs in South Africa, China, and Bangladesh. From 1989-93, he served as Associate Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, conducting oversight and developing legislation related to veterans mental-health care, special disability programs, drug and alcohol treatment, and services for homeless veterans. He is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, a director of the Dreamweaver Medical Foundation, the Montecito Education Foundation, and is a former member of the Board of Directors of InterAction. A 1982 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Thomas received a J.D. in 1985 from the University of California, Hastings College of Law and an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in May 2003. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher in rural Thailand from 1986-88. Thomas, his wife and their four children live in Santa Barbara, CA. Thomas is a 2003 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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