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Dr. Donja Thomas  is a passionate educator, Black studies and critical studies curriculum developer, scholar-activist, TEDx Speaker, writer and creative.  For nearly two decades, Dr. Thomas has been in service to cultural and conscious liberation. An award winning and nationally recognized educator, Dr. Thomas is committed to establishing learning spaces of introspection that generate more expansive understandings about cultural consciousness, creative thought, and personal empowerment. Always motivated and inspired by her love of learning, Dr. Thomas engages in creating original curriculums and learning experiences  that center the use of critical conscious literacies and the importance of employing curricular practices rooted in the Black experience inside and outside the classroom, in order to advance Black Studies in K-12 schooling.  As an educator, she is fully invested in the success of her students as human beings and leaders of tomorrow. The authentic love reciprocated between Dr. Thomas and the learners she teaches creates bondships of collective memory that help fuel her motivation as a creative.

 In 2019, Dr. Thomas gave a TEDx Talk entitled ‘Blackness is a Superpower’ which emphasizes the importance of Black studies as a gateway to critical consciousness development and liberation for all. She has been recognized as a 2026 Culture Columbus Honoree and is the recipient of the 2026 OEA Community & Cultural Impact Award, the 2022 NCTE High School Teacher of Excellence Award, the 2021 OCTELA Outstanding English Language Arts Educator Award, and the 2016 Dr. Alivia Bozeman Critical Educator Award from The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology. Dr. Thomas’ other honors include  the Gahanna City Council Black History Resolution, the John P. Howard GLHS Renaissance Staff Recognition Award, the 2022 Ohio State University EHE Legacy Spotlight, and the Central Ohio Social Justice Award recipient for her role as a Creative Director for the Gahanna Lincoln High School Diaspora program. ​

Dr. Thomas’ academic endeavors have received support from:

  • The National Council of Teachers of English

  • The National Council for Black Studies 

  • The Pulitzer Center and New York Times 1619 Project Education Network

  • The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology

  • Ohio Education Association

  • Franklin County Board of Commissioners

  • Littler Mendelson

  • Pittsburgh Public Schools Leadership Academy

  • Otterbein University

  • Ohio English Association Educational Foundation

  • Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts, among other notable organizations

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She is also an author of several publications centering the role of Black studies, Black culture and literacy in education.​


Fueled out of an honorable responsibility toward educating young people about the beauty and brilliance of Blackness, in 2009, she created ‘African American Voice’, a revolutionary Black Literature and Black Studies American Literature course that centers Black American cultural contributions as foundational to American culture as a whole. In 2024, Dr. Thomas expanded her curriculum leadership with the creation of Afro-Heritage Literature, another core English course that now stands as a cornerstone offering centering the global Black experience. She currently teaches both courses as core English credit courses at Gahanna Lincoln High School. 

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For eleven years, Dr. Thomas served as Creative Director and Co-Advisor of Gahanna High School’s Diaspora: Voices of an Ever-Changing America, cultivating it into a powerful platform for students to explore Black identity, history, and culture through art and performance. In 2025, she expanded this work into Diaspora: Truth from the Youth, a Central Ohio youth-centered arts initiative she founded and leads as Creative Director—creating transformative spaces that deepen understanding of Black culture while empowering students across the region to connect, collaborate, and express through creative truth-telling.

As an avid advocate for consciousness development, she engages in creating, developing, and producing texts & platforms focused on promoting self-love, resilience, spiritual awareness, positive thinking, cultural pride and leadership development.


She currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and two children.
 

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