Department of Corrections: Director's Biography

Thomas N. Faust currently serves as Director of the DC Department of Corrections (DOC). DOC, a major component of the District’s public safety and justice cluster, is one of the largest detention systems in the nation with responsibility for administering institutional and community-based correctional services.

Mr. Faust joins the District government as an accomplished public safety professional with over 34 years of experience in the field of criminal justice. From 1977 through 1990, he held multiple positions with the Arlington County Sheriff’s Department including Deputy Sheriff, Director of Administration and Chief Deputy. During this period, Mr. Faust provided leadership to a diverse team of public safety professionals and was intimately involved in all facets of Departmental operations including corrections, law enforcement, court security, and transport.

In 1990, Mr. Faust was elected to his first four year term as Sheriff of Arlington County, a highly esteemed position he held for three consecutive terms. As Sheriff, he managed a multi-million dollar budget and was responsible for oversight of a direct supervision detention facility housing a diverse population of male and female inmates. The sworn law enforcement and civilian employees under his supervision successfully carried out essential county-based judicial, corrections, and law enforcement functions.

During his tenure, Mr. Faust implemented a number of operational and programmatic protocols that led to the detention facility’s accreditation by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. As Sheriff he was credited with a number of major accomplishments including the successful planning, design and opening of the county’s new jail facility and justice center; creation of the facility’s first emergency response team; establishment of a jail based substance abuse treatment program; implementation of the first jail based industries program in the state, and creation of a community based safety program for senior residents.

As evidenced by his three time re-election to the position of Sheriff, Mr. Faust was seen as a proactive, inclusive and innovative public official with a commitment to quality service. He understood the importance of reaching out to residents and viewed his connection with the community as a critical component of his mission. Staff from the Department maintained an ongoing presence in the community with participation in neighborhood-based forums and meetings seen as essential to the effective exchange of information with residents throughout the county.

After leaving the Sheriff’s Office in 2000, Mr. Faust assumed the position of Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), a non-profit professional association representing over 20,000 members. As Executive Director/COO, Mr. Faust was responsible for day to day operations, finance/revenue generation, legislative and government affairs, policy development, and federal grant administration. Under his leadership, the organization’s assets were doubled, grant funding for law enforcement initiatives was increased, an online training program for jail-based correctional certification was launched, and direct assistance with Hurricane Katrina recovery was successfully coordinated and supported by Sheriff’s offices across the country.

Mr. Faust’s corporate experience includes work with Aramark Correctional Services as a VP from 2007 to 2009 where he developed corporate marketing, outreach and quality assurance strategies. Most recently, as principal of Faust Consulting Services, he served as a criminal justice and corporate consultant for organizations offering a range of public safety and corrections related services.

Mr. Faust received a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech and a Master of Public Administration from George Mason University. He has served on the George Mason University Administration of Justice Advisory Board; the Northern Virginia Community College Criminal Justice Curriculum Advisory Board, and the National Institute of Corrections Large Jail Network. Mr. Faust also served as Past President of the American Jail Association.