Thomas Tighe is the president and CEO of Direct Relief, a nongovernmental, nonsectarian nonprofit with assistance programs focused on maternal and child health, prevention and treatment of disease, and emergency deterrence and response.Thomas graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982 and received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1985. He was awarded Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2003. Prior to his role with Direct Relief, Thomas served as Associate Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and as Associate General Counsel, Chief of Staff and COO of the Peace Corps. Thomas is on the editorial advisory board for Miller-McCune Magazine, a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, an adviser to the Clinton Global Initiative and a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s graduate program in Global and International Studies. He was named Executive of the Year by the South Coast Business and Technology Forum in 2006.