Former President & CEO
Thomas J. Rice is a former President & CEO of Interaction Associates. He is also a co-founder and former Chairman of the Board of The Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC), a non-profit organization founded by Interaction Associates.
As an organization consultant, Thomas’ client engagements focused on strategy alignment, collaborative culture transformation, and environmental safety.
Before joining Interaction Associates in 1985, Thomas was a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Georgetown University and a Research Associate at Harvard University. He was also Visiting Professor and Extern Examiner at the National University of Ireland from 1979-1984.
Since focusing on literary work full time in 2009, Rice has published several short stories, two novellas, and a memoir about growing up in rural Ireland called, Far from the Land: An Irish Memoir. His latest publication is a collection of novellas and short stories called, The Sugar Loaf Mysteries & Other Stories (2020).
Thomas has co-authored four sociology textbooks, published over 50 articles, essays, and reviews on leadership, learning, social change, public policy and social inequality. He has been a keynote speaker at international and national conferences on a wide range of topics— from community building to social class dynamics.
Born and raised in Ireland, Thomas earned a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, an MA from the National University of Ireland, and a Doctorate from Purdue University. He did post-doctoral training in conflict resolution and sociotechnical systems theory (STS), from George Mason University and UCLA, respectively.
