Prior to establishing Delta Point Solutions, LLC, Dr. Tonya E. Thornton (Neaves) was the Director of Grants at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. In this role, she worked closely with faculty in developing proposals and securing contracts while also securing her own. She was also a Research Assistant Professor in the Master of Public Administration program and Coordinator for its Emergency Management and Homeland Security graduate certificate. Before joining Mason, Dr. Thornton was the Director for the Mississippi Public Safety Data Laboratory at Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center. During that time, she worked closely with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, in developing computational statistics programs and training law enforcement officers on how to analyze traffic records data in a timely, accurate, and consistent manner.

As a scholar, Dr. Thornton’s research portfolio has included securing contracts from the Department of Defense, Sandia National Laboratories, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, National Highway Safety Transportation Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Emergency Management Agency. To date, her total development research funding approximates $6 million. Dr. Thornton is very involved in her field as well, serving on the boards of several professional and non-profit organizations. As an active member of the American Society for Public Administration, she now serves as Co-Chair for the Pandemic Task Force.

Dr. Thornton has a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University, where she also earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in the Geosciences. She has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense as a subject matter expert in critical infrastructure protection and a Top 40 Under 40 by the International Association of Emergency Managers - Region 3.