Afton Thomas

Afton Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree in theatre from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree in theatre with an emphasis on children’s theatre education from Sacramento State University. In 2014 she began work at the Center as project coordinator with the Southern Foodways Alliance and served in this position for 4.5 years. Afton’s professional experience includes theatre education, hospitality management, human resources, and project management. In her current role as associate director for programs, Afton supports faculty and the Center’s institutes with the planning and execution of conferences, workshops, and special events. She is also fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the Center’s documentary expression MFA students on logistics and execution of their artist events.

Afton is committed to the LOU community and is very involved. She has served on the steering committee for Excel by 5 (2013-2016), the Visit Oxford Tourism Board (2015-2018) and she is currently a member of the Move On Up Mississippi board, Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow (LOFT) board, and a steering committee member with Leadership Lafayette (2017 graduate of the program). In addition to her community involvement, Afton is active at the university and prides herself on staying connected and attending as many functions as she can. She is co-chair of the Critical Race Studies Group, a member of the United Campus Workers, and a liaison for many departments on campus in hopes to share events and communications with her peers and students at the Center.