Tom Wike is the Executive Assistant to the Director of the Kirwan Institute. Tom is excited about learning from his colleagues and collaborating with empowered communities to influence policymakers to bring about equitable change for all. Before Kirwan, he served as the Veterans and Military Liaison for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. Tom graduated from The Ohio State University in 2021 with a bachelor’s in social work. He is a 2020 Tillman Scholar and a 2019 Veterans of Foreign Wars & Student Veterans of America Legislative Fellow. Tom enlisted in the United States Marines Corps in 2011. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and conducted joint training exercises in South Korea, Mainland Japan, California, and North Carolina.