Team

Thomas Watson

Thomas Watson is a social entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience working at the intersection of nonprofit and business management, community and economic development, network building, and philanthropy. He is the founder of Rural Support Partners (RSP), where he works with executive leaders, boards, funders, and networks to strengthen organizations and support systems-level change in rural communities across Central Appalachia and beyond.

Before founding RSP, Thomas served as Director of the Grassroots Support Project at the Southern Rural Development Initiative (SRDI), where he focused on deepening impact and scaling grassroots economic development organizations across the Deep South and Central Appalachia. He came to SRDI from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he worked as a Senior Program Consultant and National Program Officer with the Making Connections Initiative—a 10-year, $500 million effort to improve outcomes for children and families in 22 low-income cities across the United States.

Thomas is also a co-founder and former co-director of the Center for Participatory Change, where he worked alongside grassroots organizations in Western North Carolina to expand economic opportunity and advance equity for rural and marginalized communities. After graduate school, Thomas began his career as a community organizer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, working with public housing residents, faith communities, and unhoused individuals to increase affordable housing, reduce homelessness, and curb displacement.

Through his work with RSP, Thomas has helped grow and manage the Appalachia Funders Network and the Central Appalachian Network, served on the Ford Foundation’s Rural Wealth Creation Management Team, chaired the Community Investment Council of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, and served on the Board of Directors for Invest Appalachia.

Raised in Galax, Virginia, Thomas brings deep lived experience to his work in rural communities. His early career included roles as a factory welder, wilderness camp counselor for adjudicated boys, and banker—experiences that continue to shape his practical, people-centered approach to leadership and organizational development. He holds a Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he completed internships with Grassroots Leadership and the Highlander Research and Education Center. He is also a graduate of Guilford College and Wytheville Community College, where he studied business management and finance.