Rural Beacon Initiative

Dr. Dana-Marie Thomas

Renewable Energy Expert

Dana-Marie Thomas is a researcher in the Strategic Energy Security Group within the NREL Resilient Infrastructure and Security Center. Thomas develops tools and research to enhance stakeholder participation, support resilient infrastructure deployment and address community vulnerabilities in an evolving threat landscape.

She is a member of NREL’s InSPIRE (Innovative Solar Practices Integrated with Rural Economies and Ecosystems) team, where she assists communities in accelerating agrivoltaics adoption through targeted technical assistance and decision-making support. In addition, Thomas focuses on conducting energy security and resilience assessments that help partners improve energy system reliability and performance at their facilities, considering supply chain disruptions, natural hazards, security risks, and other factors. Thomas also studies cybersecurity best practices to inform policy, implementation, resilience, and good governance for securing critical infrastructure.