Thomas McDaniels Jr. is CASL’s Director of Government Affairs. He is an accomplished government relations advisor and former federal Senior Executive Service official with more than 20 years of public policy experience, including a decade of service on Capitol Hill. His professional experience has focused on homeland security, transportation and health care issues, as well as legislative development and appropriations. Prior to joining CASL, Thomas was the Director of Federal Relations for Advocate Aurora Health, the largest integrated health care delivery system in Illinois and Wisconsin. At Advocate, Thomas specifically worked with a portfolio of issues that included post-acute, hospital-at-home, health equity, health workforce, and maternal and child health issues.

Prior to joining Advocate, Thomas served as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from 2012 to 2017, a political appointment from President Obama. At TSA, he advised the Administrator and other members of TSA’s senior leadership on matters related to public and legislative affairs, and he played an instrumental role in the nationwide rollout of the TSA Pre-Check program. Prior to joining TSA, Thomas spent more than ten years as staff in the United States House of Representatives, including positions as Chief of Staff for Miami Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and Staff Director for the Transportation Security Subcommittee of the Committee on Homeland Security. During his Capitol Hill tenure, Thomas spearheaded several legislative accomplishments, including the initial authorization for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Transportation Security Act of 2009 and several enacted health and transportation appropriations requests.

Thomas received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. from the University of Miami. He is a Surface Warfare qualified U.S. Navy veteran and recipient of the Naval Achievement Medal and Southwest Asia Service Medal for his tours of duty in the Persian Gulf and Pacific Rim.