Stephan Thomas

Stephan M. Thomas is the Director of Community Justice Initiatives at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) where he serves as a senior
policy advisor to the elected prosecutor Daniel T. Satterberg. His primary focus
areas are restorative justice, community engagement, and criminal justice reform.
Before being appointed the Director of Community Justice Initiatives he worked
as a trial attorney for five years in KCPAO’s criminal division where he tried a
wide range of cases–primarily Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault cases.

In addition to trying cases, he served as a member of the KCPAO hiring
committee where he helped to recruit and mentor attorneys from non-traditinal
backgrounds. He also was one of the early supporters of King County’s 180
program, a pre-filing diversion program that allows youths charged with misdemeanor crimes the opportunity to have their charges waived before the case is filed in exchange for completing a one-day workshop. Stephan is one of
the presenters at the 180 program where he shares his story of growing up on the south side of Chicago in a single parent household and how he overcame obstacles to become a lawyer.

Stephan graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2011. During law school, he participated in mock trial where he won two Best Oral Advocate Awards and placed in the top two finalist for numerous in-house, regional, and
national mock trial competitions. He was also a Dean’s Diversity Scholar, King County Bar Scholar, and was inducted into the Order of the Barristers—a nation al honor society that recognizes oral advocates. During law school, one of Stephan’s mentors told him that the prosecutor is the most powerful person in the criminal justice system because they are the ones who make the decision to charge a person with a crime and they also have authority to dismiss a case if it lacks evidence. He became a prosecutor because he believed that it was important for a person with that much power to have a diverse perspective and compassion for both victims and offenders.
In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife, Angeline M. Thomas and thier two year old son Xavier. Stephan loves to travel (he has been to more than twenty countries and every continent except for Antarctica). Stephan also loves to read, hike, swim, bike, and cook.