Washington, DC
Ryan Thomas, co-founder of Lincoln Park Consulting, brings over 21 years of experience in government relations, having worked eight years in the United States Senate and seven years advocating for private sector companies, associations, non-profit entities, and foreign entities. Given his familiarity with government affairs and business solutions, Thomas is uniquely suited to provide expert analysis on the path to successfully negotiate federal legislation, appropriations and business opportunities with local, state, federal and foreign governments.
Thomas served in the United States Senate as a Senior Legislative Assistant before moving on to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he served under three chairmen. During his tenure as a professional staff member on the Committee, he was responsible for accounts totaling more than $5 billion annually in direct federal appropriations while working with a team overseeing a total of $20 billion in annual appropriations. Thomas drafted appropriations legislation, committee reports and conference reports and crafted authorizing legislation enacted into law. As a staff member in the U.S. Senate, Thomas was named one of the “Top 35 Staffers under 35 on Capitol Hill,” by The Hill newspaper in recognition of his outstanding government service.
As a government affairs advocate, Thomas has represented a diverse portfolio of clients-ranging from small non-profits to large corporations and foreign entities including the American Quarter Horse Association, Expedia, TerreStar, the Embassy of Mongolia, TATE Inc., VertiGO Solutions, Silk Way Airlines, the American Association for Justice, and the Motley Rice Law Firm.
Thomas recently served in the Trump Administration as Chief of Staff for the United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources and Environment. His portfolio included policy oversight for USDA Forest Service and Wildland Fire and Aviation. Regulatory oversight included forest management, pipeline and telecommunication corridors, communication towers, and mineral and oil and gas permitting.
Thomas has worked directly with Members of Congress in the areas of appropriations, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, education, energy, environment, Native American affairs, fossil fuel research and development, foreign affairs, tax, defense and small business and natural resource issues. He maintains an extensive list of contacts throughout Capitol Hill, the Administration, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
Thomas graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon with Honors in Political Science and a focus on International Affairs.
