Meet Thomas
Thomas Canavan is a nonprofit and community leader based in Olney, Maryland. His work focuses on public service, civic engagement, and how people connect with the decisions that affect their daily lives.
Thomas was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Prince George's County by a single mother alongside his younger brother. He was the first in his family to attend college, and later the first to earn a master's degree.
Education
He studied art as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland College Park, and later earned a graduate degree in arts administration from Boston University. That combination of a creative foundation paired with a grounding in how organizations actually serve communities has shaped his entire career. He is currently completing a graduate degree in Legislative Affairs at George Washington University.
Professional
Thomas has spent his career working with community-based organizations, including four years leading after-school and summer programming for DC Public Schools, providing students with access to enrichment, academic support, and extracurricular activities across multiple schools.
From there, he moved to Los Angeles, where he spent four years as Arts Manager for the Los Angeles County Fair Association, building year-round arts programming at a historic WPA-era arts center, developing multi-year educational partnerships with local school districts, and promoting local artists to a wide audience. After five years living in Los Angeles, Thomas returned to the DC area, where he served as Director of Programs at the Delaplaine Arts Center, expanding exhibitions, lectures, and educational programming for the arts community in the Frederick, Maryland region.
In 2019, Thomas made a deliberate pivot. After years of meaningful work in arts administration and education, he was looking for an opportunity to affect change at a national scale. When he discovered the National Law Enforcement Museum, he saw exactly that: a mission-driven organization at the intersection of public trust, community engagement, and the kind of institution-building that shapes how Americans understand and relate to the people who serve them.
He joined as Executive Director, drawn by the belief that trust between institutions and the communities they serve must be built intentionally, and that belief has carried into every part of his professional life since. Thomas went on to become Chief Operating Officer of the museum's parent organization, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, where he now leads operations for both the Memorial Fund and the Museum.
In addition to his professional work, Thomas is active in his local community. He serves as a Reserve Officer with the Maryland Natural Resources Police, First Vice President of the Greater Olney Civic Association, and a member of the Countywide Recreation and Parks Advisory Board. He also leads the Olney Community Run and Walk, a civic initiative he started to connect neighbors, promote healthy habits, and introduce participants to nonprofit organizations and leaders serving the region.
Thomas lives in Olney, Maryland, with his wife Zhenya, two sons, and a dog named Dug.