Education
BA, Political Science and Geosciences, Mississippi State University
MPA, Mississippi State University
PhD, Public Policy and Administration, Mississippi State University
Biography
Dr. Tonya Thornton (Neaves) is the Director for Critical Infrastructure Protection with the Global Connective Center, LLC, and is Executive Vice President for Strategic Initiatives for the National Quantum Literacy Network. She is also the Founder of Delta Point Solutions, LLC, an interdisciplinary, social, policy, and administrative sciences consulting firm that utilizes innovative research rooted in performance management and operational modeling. Her firm specializes in projects related to community resiliency, critical infrastructure, emergency management, and grid security.
Prior to establishing her firm, Dr. Thornton was the Director of Grants at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. In this role, she worked closely with faculty in developing proposals and securing contracts. She was also an Assistant Professor in the Master of Public Administration program and was Coordinator for its Emergency Management and Homeland Security graduate certificate. While at Mason, Dr. Thornton was a Co-PI in the establishment for its Center for Resilient and Sustainable Communities and was also an Advisory Council Member for Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth.
Before joining Mason, Dr. Thornton was the Director for the Mississippi Public Safety Data Laboratory at Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center. During that time, she worked closely with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, in developing computational statistics programs and training law enforcement officers on how to analyze traffic records data in a timely, accurate, and consistent manner to assist the State of Mississippi in meeting its Highway Safety Performance Plan.
As a scholar, Dr. Thornton’ research portfolio has included securing contracts from the Department of Defense, Sandia National Laboratories, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, National Highway Safety Transportation Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Emergency Management Agency. To date, her total research funding approximates $7 million. Dr. Thornton has also published her efforts in the Review of Policy Research, Journal of Emergency Management, Review of Public Personnel Management, and the American Journal of Public Health. She has authored The Politics of Fiscal Responsibility: A Comparative Perspective (2022) and has co-authored edited volumes Managing Challenges for the Flint Water Crisis (2021) and The Role of Law Enforcement in Emergency Management and Homeland Security (2021) and book chapters in The Future of Disaster Management in the U.S.: Rethinking Legislation, Policy, and Finance (2016) and New Voices in the Old South: How Women and Minorities Influence Southern Politics (2008). She was also an editor for the National Academy of Public Administration and American Society for Public Administration’s Memos to National Leaders (2016).
Dr. Thornton is very involved in her field as well, serving on the boards of several professional and non-profit organizations. As an active member of the American Society for Public Administration, she previously served as a District Representative to its National Council and is the Treasurer for its Section on Emergency and Crisis Management. Selected by former President, Janice Lachance, Dr. Thornton was chosen as a Program Co-Chair for its 2018 annual conference, coordinating 175 sessions, 750 presenters, and 1,200 attendees. She now serves as a Viewpoint Associate Editor for its Public Administration Review, the premiere journal for public administration, which focuses on connecting scholars with communities of practice. She was also Co-Chair for the Pandemic Task Force (2021-23), an ad-hoc committee appointed by Presidents Kendra Stewart and Allan Rosenbaum.