Colin Thomas-Jensen (he/him) is the National Security Director at USAID, where he advises the Administrator on national security issues.
Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Colin was a Senior Expert for Peace Processes at the United States Institute of Peace and the Senior Advisor for Africa at WestExec Advisors. From 2013 to 2017, he served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and as Deputy Director of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations’ Washington, D.C. office. From 2010 to 2012, he worked at the U.S. Department of State as the Special Advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. Earlier in his career, Colin worked for USAID as a humanitarian responder in Darfur, Sudan, in 2004 and in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
Colin has held senior research and policy positions with the Center for American Progress, where he helped found the Enough Project, and at the International Crisis Group. In 2017 and 2018, he was a member of the United Nations Panel of Experts for South Sudan. His research and analysis has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Current History, and the Christian Science Monitor.
After graduating from Pomona College, Colin served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia and Mozambique. He holds an MA in African Studies from the University of London’s School for Oriental and African Studies.