For over thirty years, Thomas has served in education as a teacher, coach, principal, district-level administrator, college professor and educational consultant for school districts, textbook publishers and the South Carolina Department of Education. He regularly conducts professional development training in educational design, curriculum development, and instructional methodology at the local, state and national levels and is a guest blogger for Edutopia with articles that focus on authentic learning experiences and the impact of using principles of design in educational settings, a concept that he explored in his 2013 TEDx talk, "Imagineering Education." Since then, Thomas has served as a consultant for both school and museum design projects in which he applies Imagineering principles to space design, user experience, and content curation.Thomas currently serves as Assistant Director at Roper Mountain Science Center where he oversees content creation for all formal and informal learning experiences as well as exhibit curation and design. Since 2009, he has also served as an adjunct Professor of Education at Furman University where he teaches "Foundations of American Education."Drawing upon his years of experience in integrating pop culture and storytelling into K-12 curriculum, in 2007, Thomas created "Adventures in Learning with Indiana Jones"​ in cooperation with Lucasfilm, Ltd.,(www.indyintheclassroom.com), a site dedicated to providing interdisciplinary curriculum and lesson ideas based upon the iconic film hero. In 2012, he launched a companion project, "Star Wars in the Classroom"​ (www.starwarsintheclassroom.com), providing inspiration for lessons in history, mythology, science, and the arts.Specialties: Curriculum Design and Development; 21st Century School Design; Professional Development Training in Educational Leadership, Content and Pedagogy; School-Community Relations; Storytelling; Design Thinking