Reina Thomas' journey into education is rooted in a fundamental belief in the power of narrative, literacy, and a desire to challenge systemic failures. A major inspiration was her mother, Retta, who stressed the importance of literacy and care. Reina shares that her mother loved reading and wanted her children to have strong literacy skills “so they never sign their life away in a contract, and had the skill to learn whatever they wanted.” In fact, Reina’s name, Reina Janelle, comes from her mother’s love for books. Reina, a character in a book about a queen, and Reina’s middle name, Janelle, was taken from author Janelle Taylor.

Growing up in Columbus Public Schools, Reina noticed a stark difference between her academic experience and that of her friends, many of whom were “brilliant, but the education system failed them. My Mom forcing me to read every day, sending me to the library every Wednesday, and developing worksheets that I had to complete over the summer are what made my journey different from my friends, but also a matter of luck. I was fortunate to have the right teachers at critical moments in my life.” A transformative moment came when, as a high school student, she attended the Young Writers’ program at Kenyon College. Interacting with students from other districts, she realized her education was being “dumbed down” simply because she lived in the wrong area code. “I was told by my school district that I was high achieving and prepared for college, yet sitting in the classroom of that summer program, I realized I was actually behind.” This experience, combined with the encouragement she received from her mother and teachers, fueled her desire to become an educator. “I knew in that moment that I wanted to become a teacher. I wanted to change the education system that had failed my friends and me from within the classroom, so I started interning at a local elementary school, which made me realize (laughing) that I wanted to teach at the Middle School or High School level.” 

Reina’s participation in programs at Kenyon, such as the Young Writers Program and SKAP (Summer Kenyon Academic Partnership), helped her secure a full-ride to the college, where she majored in American Studies with a concentration in African Diaspora and Education Studies. Kenyon’s focus on being a teaching college, where teaching was prioritized over research, made a significant difference in her developing skills to thrive at the college. More importantly, her professors shaped the type of educator she wanted to be in the classroom. She learned valuable lessons from professors such as Peter Rukoff, her advisor, who showed her that history could be told through various media like paintings, music, choreography, film, and literature, which influenced her approach to teaching history. While professors like Ivonne Garcia, Glenn McNair, Ted Mason, and Marla Kohlman showed her “how to see each student as a scholar, the importance of teaching students how to learn, the care it takes to design a course, and to have a practice of reflection.”

After Kenyon, she pursued a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Secondary Education at Brown University to become a certified teacher. Although Reina could have jumped into the classroom after finishing college, she felt that she owed it to her students to develop a sense of frameworks and pedagogies to accompany her subject content knowledge. She ended up choosing Brown’s program “because it presented itself as a teaching program focused on social justice, and I believed that teaching is activism. One of the chips on my shoulder as a student was that I didn’t learn anything about my history until I went to college, and so I knew that I wanted to integrate Black history into the US and World History courses that I would eventually teach, which led me to Brown.” In the MAT program, Reina shared that she learned to engage in research-based teaching and the backwards design concept, which has supported her curriculum writing work as well as her facilitation and design work. This foundation is critical to the structured and effective programming she now implements at the Simmons Center.

After some challenging experiences in her early career as a teacher, Reina found a highly supportive and influential environment at The Wheeler School in Providence. There, she predominantly taught world history courses, but also had the opportunity to teach US History electives, such as #sayhername, Latine American History in the US, and co-taught a class called “Maps and Migrations,” with Dr. Joanne Charles. “My first few years at Wheeler, I was really given the space to play, be creative, and take risks. More importantly, I really found my people at Wheeler from across departments and divisions who really spoke into my life and who I still call on and who support me within this position.” Reina also began writing curriculum beyond the schoolhouse and into the community. She started writing curriculum for MEO (Movement Education Outdoors) in its early stages, as well as Camp Ryse.

Today, Reina channels her extensive experience into her work at the Center. Some of her signature programs include:

BIHSI (Black and Indigenous Histories Summer Institute): This program is a natural fit, allowing her to focus on teaching history from the margins and making the perspectives of BIPOC folks the central voice. She loves being in the classroom, and BIHSI helps fulfill that yearning.

MET in the Text: Reflecting her lifelong commitment to literacy, this program focuses on literacy training and pedagogy. A partnership with the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (The MET), this year's focus is on author Safia Elhillo. Reina appreciates that Elhillo’s free verse novels, which often blend English and Arabic, are accessible to students at different reading levels and that Elhillo centers her Sudanese-American and Islamic background. This year, Reina and the students at the MET are learning poetic literary devices and forms; more importantly, the students are writing and using these devices and forms throughout the year. In addition, students are learning about the US immigration system, Sudanese history, and the history of Islamophobia to contextualize some of the themes within the novel as well.

The Teach-Ins: Black and Indigenous Histories: Reina created the Teach-Ins based on her experiences with professional development as a teacher. “Most K-12 teachers hate professional development because it's typically not well-thought-out, adds more to the educator's plate, and in a lot of cases, schools invite guests who have no background in education, yet tell teachers that they are failing at their job.” Since the work of the Simmons Center tends to be historical in its approach, Reina has focused on professional development for history and humanities educators who seek access to new research and scholarship, or a space to engage with and meet other educators. Recognizing that many educators find traditional professional development opportunities insulting or a waste of time, she aims to provide the content that history and humanities teachers need to create their own curricula. The Teach-Ins, including new breakout work time in 2026, provide teachers with the time and space to create and integrate new curriculum, along with stipends, free resources, and food. This program was inspired by Recommendations of Brown University’s Slavery & Justice Report to “use the resources of the University to help ensure a quality education for the children of Rhode Island,” by providing professional development opportunities for teachers.

At the heart of Reina's work at the Center—from curriculum writing and classroom work with high schoolers to facilitation and training for educators, Brown staff members, and teaching fellows—is her unwavering belief in high-quality, research-based, and equitable education. Through her programs, Reina ensures students, teachers, and local community members gain access to the critical scholarship needed to engage fully with the histories and legacies of the racial slave trade and subsequent movements toward justice.