Thomas Debass is a diplomat, economist, and futurist. Debass is a widely-recognized public-private partnership authority who has played a leading role in promoting and institutionalizing the role of innovation and partnerships as a tool for advancing foreign policy and global development. He regularly gives keynotes, lectures, and talks about the future of governance; and the intersection of foreign policy, business, and society. Debass travels both internationally and domestically and has delivered keynote addresses at DEMO, Concordia Summit, SXSW; and other notable conferences.

Debass is currently serving as the Secretary’s Acting Special Representative for Global Partnerships at U.S. Department of State, providing thought leadership on future trends and partnerships related to economic growth, global finance, ESG, impact investing and innovation. His most notable partnership accomplishments include: Boldline Accelerator, Blockchain@State, Unreasonable Goals, Women in Science (WiSci), and Fishackathon. Prior to joining the State Department, he was Lead Economist with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Senior Advisor at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Prior to his public service career, Debass was a tech entrepreneur as well as a research associate for research projects in South Asia and East Africa. Thomas is a graduate of Virginia Tech with MA in Applied Economics and BA in Economics. He also has an Executive Certificate in International Business Management from Georgetown University, Executive Leadership Certificate from the University of California-Berkeley, and Foresight and Future Thinking Certificate from Institute of the Future.