Tom Faust currently serves as Director of the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC), a component of the District’s public safety and justice cluster and one of the largest detention systems in the nation. Director Faust has over 40 years executive management experience in the field of public safety, criminal justice, and organizational leadership.
Director Faust returned to assume leadership of DOC in 2022 after originally serving in the role from 2011 to 2016. In 2016, he relocated to California where he had a consulting business and served three years as Chief of Staff for the Los Angeles County Probation Department, the largest adult and juvenile probation department in the country.
In returning to DOC, Director Faust’s leadership is focused on enhancing facility safety and security; instituting operational best practices; maintaining facilities and services that meet national standards, promoting culture change within the organization; and offering innovative inmate programming and services.
During his previous tenure with DOC, Director Faust instituted system-wide reforms to support and elevate the workforce; promote professional development; enhance safety and security protocols; promote fiscal stability; and prioritize effective inmate programming and services. Under his leadership, DOC facilities received national reaccreditation by the American Correctional Association and National Commission on Correctional Healthcare and were certified as PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) compliant by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Director Faust extensive experience as a public safety leader includes his tenure with the Arlington County Sheriff’s Department, which began in 1977 and included Deputy Sheriff, Director of Administration and Chief Deputy. In 1990, he was elected to his first four-year term as Sheriff of Arlington County, a position he held for three consecutive terms. 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.
After leaving the Sheriff’s Office in 2000, Director Faust assumed the position of Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), a
professional association representing over 20,000 members. He also served as a Vice President for Client Relations with Aramark Correctional Services from 2007 to 2009.
Director Faust currently serves as Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Corrections Chiefs Committee and is a board member of the Correctional Leaders Association and the American Correctional Association Delegate Assembly. He has previously 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, and was Past President of the American Jail Association.
Director Faust holds a Masters in Public Administration from George Mason University.
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