As the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Indigo Strategic Health Advisors LLC, Dr. Thomas is dedicated to supporting clients in the areas of authentic community engagement, strategic partnership development, and applying for federal and philanthropic funding. Her overall mission in this work is to facilitate and empower the involvement of patients and other stakeholders in healthcare research in order to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.
With a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree and over 20 years of experience in public health, she has a deep understanding of the health needs and challenges of diverse and vulnerable populations. Her work is especially focused in the areas of health equity/disparities, maternal and child health, and the social determinants of health. She also specializes in facilitating and/or moderating meetings, as well as serving as a presenter/speaker at events.
Additionally, while at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Dr. Thomas helped shape and expand its Engagement Award program’s philanthropic investment strategy from a concept to a $25 million/year funding mechanism. The program seeks to build stakeholder capacity and support their engagement as partners in patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). Dr. Thomas also co-led and oversaw a PCORI organization-wide workgroup dedicated to addressing maternal morbidity and mortality (MMM)-related health and healthcare issues, especially for the most vulnerable groups of women in the U.S. This effort supported the creation of more inclusive stakeholder engagement strategies, as well as research funding priorities and opportunities through PCORI specifically aimed to support organizations in improving maternal reproductive healthcare outcomes and promoting health equity in this country.