Thomas Walker, Jr.

Tom Walker is the Founder and President of the American Village Citizenship Trust, chartered in 1995.

Walker conceived the idea of the American Village in the late 1980s as an American history and civics educational campus to inspire and prepare young people for their roles as good citizens and leaders. He led efforts to build the 188-acre campus just south of Birmingham, Alabama, in Montevallo, and to design and implement its widely-acclaimed and engaging history and civics programs. The campus consists of almost 20 historically inspired buildings. More than 650,000 students from throughout the southeastern states have participated in immersive experiences since the Village opened, in addition to thousands of public visitors each year as well.

For that work, Walker received the American Bar Association’s highest national award for excellence in K-12 law-related education. He has received numerous state, regional and national awards, and a few years ago, he was named “Birmingham Citizen of the Year” by The Women’s Committee of Birmingham.

Tom earned his B.A. with Honors in history and political science at the University of Montevallo and his M.A. in political science at Mississippi State University. He is a former city manager and local government specialist. Prior to founding the American Village, he served as Special Assistant to the President at the University of Montevallo. Later he served as vice chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Montevallo and chair of its finance committee. He was the founding chair of the Alabama Higher Education Partnership, a consortium of Alabama’s public colleges and universities.