Tom has sat on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Police Association (CPA) since 2003 and he has served as its President since May 2011. Tom was the former President of the Vancouver Police Union (VPU) from 1998-2019, as well as past President and founding member of the British Columbia Police Association (BCPA) from 2008-2019. In 2024, he was acclaimed for a fourth term as President of the International Council of Police Representative Associations (ICPRA).

Tom has been a constable with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) for over 30 years, where he enjoyed a variety of assignments prior to his secondment to the VPU. He has served on several boards including the boards of Covington Capital, the youth empowerment charity Odd Squad Productions, and several Federal/Provincial advisory boards and committees.

Tom has extensive knowledge and experience in a variety of areas including strategic crisis communications and advocacy, disciplinary matters, collective bargaining, negotiations, conflict resolution, benefit administration, pensions and governance.

In 2017, he was promoted to Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces in Canada.