NPMANAGEMENT.ORG - Key Persons
Ed Thomas began his college education as a mathematical computer science major, then switched to social work after two years. While that fact might raise some doubts about his ability to choose a career, it also helps to explain why it felt natural for him to combine not-for-profits with the Internet.
He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work and a Master's degree in Project Management. He is also certified as a Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute.
The early part of his career was spent as a therapist in a mental health setting, specializing in group and marital work. It was during that period when he began to learn team facilitation and development techniques. This later became a particular focus and area of expertise. He began managing non-profits in 1990, and moved to a blend of function-based and project-based management roles in 1994. A significant portion of that time was spent as a traveling program planner, developer, and assessor. He had contact with a variety of professionals during that period., leading to some excellent learning experiences. He started this site as a way of continuing to learn.
He established Management in the Not for Profit Organization in 2001 using MS Publisher as a content generation system and free hosting from a company based in the United Kingdom. The tools have changed some since then, but the focus of the site has not. It is his attempt to continue the exploration of management in nonprofit organizations.