Nicole Thomas, MBA, CDP | Director
Ms. Thomas is a lifelong resident of West and Southwest Philadelphia who has committed the last two decades of her career to fostering and supporting impactful collaborations between historically disenfranchised communities, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to achieve sustainable community, familial, and individual-level change.
She is a cofounder and Co-Director of the Penn Community Scholars Program and REACH Initiative (Research and Equity in Academic-Community Health Partnerships) both at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2015, the Penn Community Scholars Program has successfully trained over 50 community members, representing 45 community-based organizations, to conduct research using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. The REACH Initiative expands and leverages this program to facilitate the creation of equitable community-academic partnerships. In these roles and throughout her academic career she has worked to improve health outcomes, dismantle structural racism, and create equity and opportunities for Black and Brown communities.
She has extensive expertise in building and sustaining authentic community-academic partnerships which advance science and translate findings into practice to improve community health. Specializing in partnership development, capacity building and training for community members and academicians, communications, and dissemination, she has worked and consulted with multidisciplinary research teams, academic departments, nonprofit organizations, and community residents in areas such as: youth violence prevention, leadership development, chronic illness, healthy food access, improving the built environment, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is dedicated to employing and institutionalizing evidence-based yet imaginative strategies and tools to address the present and emerging health and socioeconomic challenges of Black and Brown and other marginalized communities.
As Director of the Urban Health Lab, she works closely with the Faculty Director to create and execute the strategic vision and build a culture that supports team development and promotes the mission, vision, and values of the Urban Health Lab.