Theresa Thomas’ journey into education has been one that has been shaped by her unwavering passion for the craft of teaching and a deep commitment to nurturing the potential within each individual that works with children. It all began when she embarked on her career as a City Year Corps member, where she discovered the transformative power of education and the profound impact it can have on young lives. This experience ignited a fire within her that led her to Miami, where she spent her early years in education as a dedicated teacher, imparting knowledge, fostering growth, and instilling a love for learning in her students. Her evolution continued as she ventured into the role of a Curriculum Support Specialist at MDCPS, a position that allowed her to leverage her extensive knowledge to shape effective and innovative learning pathways. Her caring and individualized approach resonated deeply, and she found herself drawn to the art of professional and leadership development. Theresa’s determination led her to take the bold step of becoming the Founding Director for High School Academics at The Seed School of Miami. This role allowed her to blend her passion, knowledge, and unique perspective, shaping her into a transformational leader who believes in the limitless potential of each student and educator. Her life's work has become a testament to the power of education to inspire, uplift, and transform, and she is humbled and honored to continue her journey as the Senior Director of Academics at The Seed School of Miami over 6-12 academics.

In addition to her fulltime job, Theresa recently founded Empowering Leader’s Nest (ELN) in an effort to expand her impact. The focus of ELN is to cultivate and support growing leaders (spoiler alert we are all leaders and always growing). Leadership is not a monolith and often times we are conditioned to believe a leader is one dimensional. Then we step into the role and try to step into shoes that are not our own and struggle to show up in a way that gets the job done effectively and in a way that honors our individual persona and skills. ELN is a space to help leaders discover this.

“Very early in my leadership journey I had to discover my authentic leadership style. Doing so empowered me to lead in a confident manner reflective of my best self, most days. This helped me successfully lead a team of educators through the early start-up days of our organization. It wasn’t always pretty but my team felt seen and heard through every hurdle we faced. ”- Theresa

Theresa is excited about sharing her passion for leadership development with new leaders navigating the complexities of being a leader in today’s work climate.