The Honorable Tommy Sowers, Ph.D., is a multi-sector leader who has led in the political, military, governmental, academic, corporate, entrepreneurial, non-profit and philanthropic worlds. He is the faculty lead for the Initiative for Science & Society’s Applied Technology Ethics program where he plays a key role in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, developing curriculum, and building relationships with industry leaders and faculty to foster meaningful collaborations.

Most recently, Sowers served as the President of flyExclusive, the nation’s fourth largest private jet charter operation. With 100 jets, 700 employees and above $250 ARR, Sowers helped lead the executive team across revenue, finance, operations, technology and maintenance repair operations through its IPO in 2023.

Previously he served as the Pentagon’s lead for innovation in the Southeast, connecting academic and venture communities to help solve national security problems. He taught courses at Duke University at the intersection of national security, technology and academia.

From 2015-2018, he was cofounder and CEO of GoldenKey. A San Francisco and Durham based venture backed firm disrupting the buying and selling of homes, GoldenKey saved home buyers/sellers over $1.7M in fees in hundreds of transactions across America. GoldenKey was acquired in May 2018 by Landis.

Prior to founding GoldenKey, in 2014-2015 Sowers served as visiting faculty at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and Assistant Director of the Hart Leadership Program.

From August 2012 to April 2014, Dr. Tommy Sowers was nominated and confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As one of the youngest Senate confirmed assistant secretary in the first and second Obama Administrations, Dr. Sowers directed departmental communications and oversaw programs involving intergovernmental relations, homeless veteran programs and, with the Ad Council, conceived, resourced and developed the VA’s first national outreach campaign of this century.

Prior to joining VA, Dr. Sowers was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. where his work focused on advising private equity clients on strategy, valuation and due diligence. Previously he served as senior advisor to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. In 2010, he was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Representative in Missouri’s 8th congressional district.

An 11 year veteran of the U.S. Army, he led a combat engineering platoon in support of Peacekeeping Operations in Kosovo. In 2004, Sowers graduated first in his class at the Special Forces Qualification Course. Between 2004- 2006, Sowers deployed to Iraq twice as a Green Beret, leading and advising U.S. and Iraqi units on counterinsurgency operations. Between 2006 and 2009 Sowers served as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy.

A 1998 graduate of Duke, Sowers was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar while earning his MSc and PhD from the London School of Economics. He lives 10 minutes from campus with his wife Ericka, four young daughters and two dogs.