As vice president of the Center for Civic Sites and Community Change, Thomasina "Tomi" Hiers oversees the Foundation's place-based investments. Central to this work are significant neighborhood transformation initiatives in Atlanta and Baltimore, where the Foundation is linking economic, educational and housing programs to strengthen families and communities. Hiers also oversees multisector national community strategies — including Casey's Evidence2Success and Family-Centered Community Change initiatives — that seek to demonstrate promising practices and expand the use of effective programs to advance child well-being.
Previous to her appointment as vice president in 2019, Heirs served as the Foundation's Baltimore Civic Site director. In this role, she led the Foundation’s efforts to ensure children and families across the city were healthy and thriving, with access to strong community-based services, good jobs, affordable homes and high-quality schools.
Prior to joining Casey, Hiers was the executive director of Baltimore’s Promise, a public-private collaborative working to support children’s health and education from cradle to career. She has more than 18 years of experience in state and local government. She previously served as deputy secretary for programs at the Maryland Department of Human Resources, managing the Family Investment, Social Services and Child Support Enforcement administrations; deputy chief of staff to former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, advising on policies, programs and services affecting youth, the formerly incarcerated and individuals experiencing homelessness; and assistant secretary and chief of staff at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, overseeing operations, programs and reentry services.
Hiers’ leadership in extends beyond her work at the Foundation. She is a board member for the United Way of Central Maryland, the Job Opportunities Task Force, the Maryland CASH Campaign and St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation. In addition, she recently was appointed to the board of directors of MENTOR, a national organization committed to connecting young people to positive mentoring relationships.