Thomas facilitates the establishment of critical energy infrastructure in Tribal communities. Twice elected Tribal Council Chair of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians (2017 to 2024), Thomas worked for the future of his Tribe by advancing and expanding opportunities for economic development; providing quality educational experiences with improved retention rates for Native youth in high school, college, and vocational education; promoting healthy lifestyles for the community; and investing in public safety through increased resources for Tribal law enforcement. His focus on the most urgent needs of his own Tribal community and the communities of the Salton Sea area increasingly required work on environmental justice and energy equity issues. He served as president of the Salton Sea Authority Board of Directors and worked with the California Natural Resources Agency and California state legislators to help secure $80.5 million in appropriations for restoration of the Salton Sea. Working alongside U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D., (CA-25), he advocated for community water system safety at the Oasis Mobile Home Park on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation, supporting Representative Ruiz's introduction of the Emergency Order Assurance, Safety, and Inspection of water Systems (OASIS) Act (H.R. 3286) to address severe arsenic contamination and a lack of safe alternative drinking water. He also collaborated with Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and leaders of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, and Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe to help create a framework for the Tribal Nations' co-management of the Chuckwalla National Monument, which stretches from the Coachella Valley to the Colorado River and Mexican border.

Thomas also supported legislation to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis, resulting in the passage of the Feather Alert (AB 1314), establishing a dedicated alert system, and collaborated with Former Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, 36th District, and Assemblymember James Ramos, 45th District, to establish curriculum requirements for Native American history and culture in California schools. His service to his Tribe included co-chairing the Legislative Committee, chairing the Tribal Employment Rights Commission, and serving as Tribal Council Treasurer from 2013 to 2017. He was a member of the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association board and secretary of the California Tribal Business Alliance board.

After earning his bachelor of science in computer science from Coleman University, Thomas served in the U.S. Navy as an avionics technician for the F-14 Tomcat Fighter Aircraft Navy Squadron VF-302 and on the U.S.S. Enterprise Aircraft Carrier. Following his military service, he joined the civil service on North Island Naval Air Base, San Diego, and was charged with training personnel for the S3A Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft via Flight Simulator maneuvers. Utilizing skills developed in the military, Thomas then served as a wildland firefighter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for several years before working for the Torres Martinez Regulatory Gaming Commission and as the Tribal administrator for the Santa Rosa Band of Mission Indians, where he worked with Former U.S. Representative Mary Bono (CA-45) to secure critical easements that allowed the Santa Rosa Band of Mission Indians to establish phone service for the very first time.