Nithi Thomas

Nithi Thomas is the Vice President of Alliance Programming at America’s Promise Alliance (APA). Having spent more than a decade leading and advising a wide range of organizations from start-up to expansion, Nithi brings deep expertise in designing, implementing, and scaling new learning models. Nithi operates at the intersection of design thinking, innovation, and continuous improvement. She’s proud to support system leaders and service providers working across sectors to identify, develop, and share high-quality practices and strategies that build the capacity of educators and improve outcomes for young people across the country. Her approach is grounded in racial equity and culturally responsive practice.

Prior to joining APA, Nithi helped launch an education strategy and policy firm where she led a cross-functional team of consultants, subject matter experts, and non-profit leaders to support education leaders’ pandemic recovery efforts across the country. Tasked with identifying trends in the field and elevating promising practices, Nithi’s team created tools and resources, provided hands-on implementation support, and created numerous professional learning networks to support more than 200 leaders in 15 states and 153 districts enable system leaders. Nithi was particularly proud to develop and lead programming strategy for a new Chief Equity Officers network.

In addition to her work designing programs and serving clients, Nithi is a seasoned manager dedicated to developing talent, building teams, and training and coaching team members to uncover their strengths and achieve their full potential.

Nithi began her career as a middle school math teacher in New York and later served as central and school team administrator and instructional coach. Nithi holds a Master of Science in secondary education from St. John's University and a Bachelor of Science in computer programming information systems from Farmingdale State University. She also earned certificates in Women's Leadership and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace. Nithi lives with her two young children and husband just outside Philadelphia, where she’s active in her local school system.