Who We Are
Thomas P. Oppel, President
Thomas Oppel brings more than three decades of experience in communications, policy, politics, defense, international relations, sustainability and management as founder and President of O2 Strategies, LLC, a strategic advisory firm.
Among current clients are an artificial intelligence/data firm, a renewable energy compatible construction materials company and NGOs working on democracy and a circular economy. He also consulted for nearly three years with the American Sustainable Business Network as Executive Vice President, leading policy efforts on democracy, climate & energy, circular economy, infrastructure and “high road” economic issues, as well as reorganizing overall management and budget.
From 2009 to 2017, he served as Chief of Staff to the 75th Secretary of the United States Navy, Ray Mabus, overseeing development, execution and communication of the Secretary’s policies, goals and objectives throughout the Navy and Marine Corps, the Pentagon, the federal government, Congress and the public. Among the major achievements during his tenure was shifting the Navy and Marine Corps away from fossil fuels, with renewables accounting for over 60% ashore and nearly 40% at sea by 2017. In that role, Oppel held the highest security clearance, TS-SCI, and the civilian equivalent rank of a three-star Admiral.
When President Obama asked Secretary Mabus to develop a recovery plan for the Gulf Coast following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Oppel managed that effort. The recommendations in the resulting report –
America’s Gulf Coast, A Long-Term Recovery Plan after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – were essentially the basis for the bipartisan RESTORE Act, which has pumped billions of dollars in economic, health and environmental restoration efforts into the Gulf states.
THOMAS OPPEL BIO
Before founding a his own political consulting firm, All Points Communications, in 2003, Oppel was a partner in a Washington-based political media consulting firm, Struble Oppel Communications, that helped elect more than a dozen Democratic U.S. Senators; more than two dozen other candidates to congressional, state, county and municipal offices; and gain passage of several major ballot initiatives.
Prior to that, Oppel was an independent consultant providing management and communications strategy for dozens of campaigns and causes. He served as press secretary for Mike Espy's successful 1986 campaign to become the first African-American elected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction and for Mabus’ successful 1987 gubernatorial campaign and as senior advisor for communications and politics in the Mabus Administration.
Before entering the political arena, Oppel covered politics for nearly a decade for several newspapers in New England and the South and for United Press International. He began his career as a public school teacher.
A graduate of Seton Hall University, he earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature, a minor in psychology and a teaching certificate in secondary education. He also completed all course work at Dartmouth College toward a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and several economics courses at the Harvard Extension School.
He is a member of the National Writers Union and has been a member of the National Defense Industrial Association, the Academy of Political Science and the American Political Science Association. In January 2017, he was awarded the Department of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the highest award the Navy can award to a civilian employee.
