email iconlinkedin icon
Speaker

Pastor Rhonda Thomas

Faith in Florida

Rev. Rhonda Michele Walker Thomas is a native of Miami Florida. She is the wife of Reverend Ranzer Thomas Sr., and the mother of two beautiful children, Roquonda and Ranzer Jr. She and her husband serve as the founding Pastors of the New Generation MB Church in Miami for over 30 years.

Rev. Rhonda Thomas began her journey as a fellow for PICO Florida, (presently known as Faith in Florida) in 2012 as she began engaging the Faith Community encouraging voters to vote No on Amendment 3. Rhonda continued to elevate in the world of organizing as the lead organizer to the Statewide Deputy Director.

She led the “Let My People Vote Campaign as the Deputy Director for the State of Florida, fighting for over 1.5 million returning citizens’ voting rights to be restored. She organized over 800 clergy and congregations to participate, along with leading the largest Souls 2 Polls in the history of the State of Florida. Rev. Rhonda has a deep passion for empowering people and communities of color with education, awareness and provoking them to utilize their voices.

Late October 2019, Faith in Florida Board appointed Rev. Rhonda Thomas as the new Executive Director of Faith in Florida. She made history by being the first African American Woman to serve in this capacity.

Reverend Rhonda Thomas serves on the following boards: HEAT, RJT and Jackson Healthcare Center North. She is a member of AACCC (African American Clergy Community Coalition), NAACP, FRRC (Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, NAN (National Action Network), Leading Black Women of Broward County and the City of Opa Locka.

Rhonda has received several rewards for her dedicated community service; Miami Dade County Public Schools—District 1, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Florida A & M University Alumni—Miami Dade County Chapter, The Professional Black Women of Broward County, Miami Dade County Department of Corrections, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and many more.

Resources from

Pastor Rhonda Thomas

Related resources
Narrative, Agency & Belonging
This plenary's discussion from the 2023 DPI Annual Convening was about the role that narrative, agency and belonging play in the work to build and sustain powerful political movements and how those insights can translate into impact.
Past Speaking Events
Oct 5, 2023
Concurrent Sessions
Mitigating the Impact of Incarceration on Returning Citizens, Their Families, and Communities
description

Davin Phoenix, author of The Anger Gap: How Race Shapes Emotion in Politics, has collaborated with organizers in Florida, Louisiana, and Kentucky to understand the impact incarceration has on the family, friends, and communities of returning citizens. In this session, we discussed lessons from this research, including the way that returning citizens and their communities can forge a sense of linked fate through organizing that empowers and sustains localized political action.

REsource Report
Oct 22, 2021
SESSION 3B - Engaging Returning Citizens Beyond the Election Cycle
description

MODERATOR: Andrea McChristian (Law & Policy Director, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice) SPEAKERS: Ronald Pierce (Democracy & Justice Fellow, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice), Pastor Rhonda Thomas (Faith in Florida), Hannah Walker (UT Austin), Ariel White (Associate Professor, MIT)

No Moderator Events Available.

Join us to explore more research and innovation projects housed in the DPI Research Library.