Tom Walls joined the Sorensen Institute as executive director in 2016. His varied career includes roles in campaigns at every level, the legal and legislative arenas, and academia. As an attorney in Washington, D.C., he helped clients to navigate policy challenges and matters of ethics, regulatory compliance, and congressional investigations. Tom served for 10 years as an adjunct faculty member at the George Washington University Law School before joining Sorensen.

Tom has held senior staff posts for three U.S. Senators, most recently as Chief Counsel to Sen. Mark Warner. He served for 10 years as a Partner at McGuireWoods LLP and Senior Vice President of Federal Public Affairs at McGuireWoods Consulting. Immediately before joining Sorensen, Tom was a principal in the Public Policy and Regulation group at Dentons US LLP in Washington, D.C. He is a 1987 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and earned a B.A. in English at UVA in 1982.