Franklin A. Thomas

Franklin A. Thomas "is head of the TFF Study Group, a not for profit development assistance group focusing on Southern Africa.

"Mr. Thomas served as President and CEO of The Ford Foundation from 1979 to 1996 and was responsible for all of the Foundation’s program, operational and investment activities.

"From 1967-77, Mr. Thomas served as President and CEO of Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, one of the nations first public/private partnerships aimed at the comprehensive development of one of the nation’s largest distressed urban communities. Restoration has served as a model for hundreds of similarly focussed community-based development corporations throughout the country.

"Mr. Thomas was Chair of the Rockefeller Foundation-funded Study Commission on U.S. Policy Toward South Africa from 1979-1981 and later served as a member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on South Africa from 1985 to 1987.

"From 1956-60 Mr. Thomas was a navigator in the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1964-1965. He served as New York City Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of legal matters from 1965 to 1967. He holds a BA from Columbia College and an LLB from Columbia University Law School."

Hbeen a consultant for The Study Group, a nonprofit institution assisting development in South Africa, since 1996 and chairman of the September 11 Fund, since 2001. He has been a Director of Alcoa since 1977.


 * International Working and Advisory Group, Comparative Human Relations Initiative
 * Advisory Board, United Nations Fund for International Partnerships
 * Director, Alcoa