Thomas D. McNeese

Dr. Thomas D. McNeese is the Interim Director of the Behavioral Health Division of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. He joined the Sheriff's Office as a full-time employee shortly after the Division's founding in 2020.

Dr. McNeese is a dual national, born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico, and is fluent in Spanish. He holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, an M.A. in Psychology, and an M.Ed. in Counseling from the University of Houston. Dr. McNeese also obtained a BBA in finance from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Rice University's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business.

Dr. McNeese completed his predoctoral fellowship in the Adult/Child Track at the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). He trained/worked in various settings, including DePelchin Children's Center, Ben Taub Hospital (BTH), Houston Independent School District, and BCM's Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic. He went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship through BCM and BTH with a focus on personality disorders, severe mental illness, and trauma. Additional research and work included the University of Houston, Houston Center for Quality of Care & Utilization Studies, and Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Dr. McNeese is a clinical assistant professor through BCM. He has also served as an assistant professor though the Louis A. Faillace, M.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). He also worked through the local mental health authority in the Adult Forensic Unit housed in the Harris County Jail, providing forensic psychological services to criminal courts in over 1,000 cases.

Dr. McNeese is also actively involved in various community organizations. He is currently president emeritus of the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations (HCFR), was a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York from 2010 to 2015, is a member of the advisory board of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations (DCFR), is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, and advisor to Amigos de Las Américas. Dr. McNeese is involved with the FBI Citizen's Academy Alumni Association, the Houston Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association, and InfraGard. He also is active with the Alliance for Multicultural Community Services as a member of the Alliance Health and Services Board and the Alliance Advisory Council.

On the business side, Dr. McNeese has also been involved in cross-border transactions in Latin America and the Caribbean and was an advisor to Strategic Insight Group (SIG) on international and market development matters.