Mr. Thomas Townsend is a native Charlottean and currently resides in Stanly County with his wife and brother. He also has two grown children and a granddaughter who also live in Stanly County. He currently teaches Computer Technology courses at a local CMS middle school where he has been for the past 8 years. Thomas has taught at the Middle School and High School level in both CMS and Stanly County. He has more than 20 years of teaching experience in North Carolina as well as extensive business experience. He currently holds a Masters of School Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Arts & Technical Education from Appalachian State University.

Mr. Townsend was forced to leave education for about 15 years due to program cuts in the area in which he was teaching. He took this opportunity to start up and operate two private businesses that had a workforce of approximately 130 people, many of whom were bilingual. This business provided custom residential and commercial buildings throughout 5 southeastern states. Upon selling the business, he returned to education teaching Computer Technology Courses in CMS and maintains his general contractor’s license and construction business.

After working with Fredy Romero for several years, Mr. Townsend has grown to understand how the importance of a strong bilingual support system is to the education of all children. In an opportunity to provide such a structure Mr. Townsend has worked closely with Mr. Romero to establish the Colombo American Foundation, Inc. The purpose of which is to provide cultural and bilingual education to educators, businesses, and others. Mr. Townsend hopes to use his experience in business start ups and operations to provide support for a strong educational and advocacy system for the bilingual community.Type your paragraph here.