LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch
JURORS
Autumn Harry
Masters Student, University of Nevada
Autumn Harry is from Kooyooe Pa'a Panunadu, also known as Pyramid Lake, located in Northern Nevada. Autumn is a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and is Numu (Paiute) and Diné (Navajo). Autumn is currently a Masters student at the University of Nevada, Reno, studying Geography with an emphasis on Indigenous mapping methods and restoration of Indigenous place names.
Igor Radonjic
Aid Worker and Environmentalist
Igor Radonjic experienced the Balkans’ wars in 1990s as a teenager and young adult. This prompted his interest in ways to peacefully address conflict over the differences in group identity and over the ways that we use our common resources such as land, water and clean energy. Igor studied at the University of London and at the United Nations University for Peace and has worked in international disaster response and humanitarian sector for over 20 years. Over the past ten years he has been at Alight’s global team as the lead in humanitarian shelter, water and clean energy programs.
Igor has worked with Alight’s teams and communities in arid parts of Sudan and Somalia on water conservation, rainwater harvesting and solar-powered irrigation. Abundance of sun in Somalia has been an inspiration for projects like solar-powered desalination of ocean water and solar-powered freezers to support the fishing communities make the most of their produce.
Over the past eight years, he has worked with Alight’s teams and partners on sustainable gravity-fed water systems in Eastern Congo. Operated by the communities with zero energy footprint and close-to-zero environmental impact, Alight’s water systems operate hand in hand with its public health clinics and help generate income for community members.
David de Rothschild
Explorer and environmentalist
David de Rothschild is an explorer, environmentalist, and an eternal optimist. Driven by his immeasurable curiosity for the natural world, he has ventured to some of the most remote and fragile ecosystems on our planet in order to bring widespread attention and innovative solutions to urgent global environmental issues. With numerous adventures, several books, and a TV series, alongside being recognized by UNEP as Climate hero and National Geographic as an Emerging Explorer, David is always debating, collaborating, and innovating solutions for a more sustainable planet and driving individuals and groups alike to unlock their human potential and dream big.
Jason Schupbach
Head of Design, Arizona State University
Jason Schupbach is the director of The Design School at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. He was previously the director of Design and Creative Placemaking programs for the National Endowment for the Arts, where he oversaw all design and creative placemaking grantmaking and partnerships, including Our Town and Design Art Works grants, the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, and the NEA’s Federal agency collaborations. He has written extensively on the role of arts and design in making better communities, and his writing has been featured as a Best Idea of the Day by the Aspen Institute.
Matt Forkin
Hardware Engineer, Google X; Wilderness skills expert
Matt is an Engineer, Designer, and Wilderness Educator. His technical expertise is in renewable energy and sustainable materials; he has designed and built products, equipment, and factories. A lifelong passion for nature connection led him to an immersive study of traditional skills including living a completely stone-age lifestyle in the Cascade mountains for a year. Matt has taught and facilitated groups of youth from elementary school through university age, including leading young men’s wilderness trips with W.I.L.D. He is currently working with Google X to develop new technologies that can combat climate change. Matt holds dual degrees from Brown University in Mechanical Engineering and Visual Arts.
Heather Gayle Holdridge, LEED Fellow, EIT,
Assoc. AIA
Sustainability Director at Lake|Flato Architects
Heather Gayle Holdridge is the Sustainability Director at Lake|Flato Architects, a firm that has gained national recognition for architecture that successfully responds to its particular place while seamlessly integrating with the natural environment. Leveraging her background in mechanical engineering, Heather directs all Lake|Flato project teams in establishing achievable sustainability goals. She devises strategies and establishes methods and systems to realize those goals under programs such as LEED, the 2030 Challenge, and the Living Building Challenge. Heather works closely with design teams to evaluate appropriate passive systems and performs energy modeling throughout the design process. Heather’s projects have included the Engineered BioSystems Building at Georgia Tech University, the Austin Central Library, and the LIVESTRONG Foundation facility. She received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Christian Gaines
Executive Director, Western States Arts Federation
A film, arts and technology leader in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, Christian has held leadership positions at the Sundance Film Festival, the Hawaii International Film Festival and the American Film Institute. For five years beginning in 2008, Christian ran business development at Withoutabox after it was acquired by IMDb, a division of Amazon. In 2013, Christian became Executive Director of ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also served as a council member on the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. In January of 2019, Christian joined the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) as its Executive Director. Christian is passionate about bringing opportunities to artists, inspiring teams to do their best work and creating joyful spaces where everybody belongs.
Dave Solaro
Assistant County Manager, Washoe County
Dave Solaro is an Assistant County Manager for Washoe County focusing on community services. During his 18 years at Washoe County, Dave has held various leadership roles, including Director of Community Services, Division Director of Operations, Acting Public Works Director and Assistant Public Works Director-Facilities. Solaro holds a Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Science, and a Professional Construction Management degree and is a Licensed Architect and a Professional Civil Engineer in the state of Nevada. In addition to his leadership roles at Washoe County, Dave also serves as President of Galena Volunteer Fireman, Inc., a private 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization that serves the community through funding opportunities for those wishing to enter the field of firefighting or emergency medical services.
Michelle Tulac
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Michelle is responsible for bringing the Foundation's mission to life in NYC and North America. She helps inform and develop partnerships, programs, and policies to demonstrate the circular economy in the urban context. She’s currently focused on identifying and activating the opportunities with the greatest potential to transform NYC into a circular city. Prior to joining the Foundation, Michelle worked at the global design and innovation company IDEO. Originally from California and currently living in NYC, Michelle loves to travel and explore the world (and the world of possibilities!). She’s endlessly curious and always up for an adventure.
Chip Thomas
Artist, Activist, Physician
Chip Thomas, aka “jetsonorama,” is a native of North Carolina. His life direction changed when he attended a small, alternative, Quaker middle school in the mountains of North Carolina (the Arthur Morgan School). He is a photographer, public artist, activist, and physician who has been working between Monument Valley and The Grand Canyon on the Navajo nation since 1987. There, he coordinates the Painted Desert Project—a community building effort which manifests as a constellation of murals and public art projects across western Navajo Nation painted by artists from all over the world.
Thomas’ own public artwork consists of enlarged black and white photographs pasted on structures along the roadside on the Navajo nation and elsewhere. His motivation is to reflect back to the people in his community the love and elements of the culture they’ve shared with him over the past 32 years. He sees this work as an evolving dialog with his community. Thomas is a member of Justseeds Artists Cooperative, an international cooperative of 29 socially engaged artists scattered between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. You can find his large scale photographs pasted throughout the southwest and scattered sites around the country. He’s done projects with the Peoples Climate March, 350.org, and NPR.
Victor Santiago Pineda
Development Scholar, Urbanist, Filmmaker, Speaker, and Activist
Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda is a serial social impact entrepreneur, globally recognized human rights expert, and leading scholar on inclusive and accessible smart cities. He is a two-time presidential appointee and serves as the president and founder of Pineda Foundation/World ENABLED, and the film production company Windmills & Giants.
He is a Senior Fellow at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government in Dubai and holds a residency at SF Film. Dr. Pineda directs the Inclusive Cities Lab at UC Berkeley, founded the Global Network for Disability Inclusive and Accessible Urban Development, the GAP-PWD Partner Constituent Group, and co-founded the Smart Cities for All Global Initiative. Dr. Pineda holds a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from UCLA’s Luskin School for Public Affairs, a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning, a BA in Political Economy, and a BS in Business Administration.
Jocelyn Torres
Senior Field Director, Conservation Lands Foundation
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 2011 with a degree in public relations and political science, Jocelyn returned to Las Vegas making it a point to do something positive in her community no matter how small.
Jocelyn serves as the Senior Field Director at the Conservation Lands Foundation. Before joining CLF as the Nevada Program Director in 2015, she was the Deputy Director at Battle Born Progress (formerly ProgressNow Nevada) where she worked to advance progressive issues in the state of Nevada. She also worked with Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores assisting constituents in the neighborhood where she grew up. Outside of her day-to-day duties, Jocelyn sits on the Las Vegas Metro Multicultural Advisory Council, serves as Board Chair of DREAM Big Nevada and is mom to an 8-year old, 3 dogs and a turtle.
Rina Schumer
Asst VP of Academic and Faculty Affairs,
Desert Research Institute
Dr. Schumer’s primary research interests involve stochastic models for environmental processes. She uses mathematical models to enhance understanding of subsurface transport in porous and fractured media, surface-subsurface exchange, sediment transport, as well as geomorphic processes and their signature in the geologic record. Using her background in applied mathematics, she also has projects that employ optimization techniques, time series analysis, extreme value theory, and probability and statistics.
Stacey Black
Assistant Principal and Teacher, Gerlach K–12
Stacey Black has lived in Gerlach for eleven years and is the assistant principal of the Gerlach K-12 School where she teachers, plans experienced based learning opportunities, and oversees school operations. The first time she went to Burning Man was in 2001 and has been back every year since. She’s a Black Rock Ranger and contributes time year-round to Ranger leadership. Finally, she is the proud mama of two young boys. She and her husband enjoy seeing their burgeoning connection to the Black Rock Desert. Stacey loves the desert and cares deeply about the local community of Gerlach, Nevada.
Will Roger
Founding Board Member, Burning Man Project
Will Roger discovered Burning Man in 1994, through his life partner Crimson Rose. Together and with several others, they co-founded Black Rock City, LLC, which has overseen the Burning Man event for nearly 20 years. Will founded and managed the Black Rock City Department of Public Works — a team of several hundred people responsible for the pre-event and post-event construction logistics and production. He is a founding board member of Burning Man Project, and is the Vice-President of Friends of the Black Rock/High Rock. Will is heavily involved in conservation efforts of the Black Rock Desert, which is the United States' largest National Conservation Area, and which is home to the Burning Man event. He served as Chairman of the Sierra Front – North Western Great Basin – Resource Advisory Council (RAC), and is currently a member of the RAC NCA Subgroup. Will is also an accomplished photographer, and worked nearly 20 years at the Rochester Institute of Technology as a photo chemist, administrator, associate professor, and Assistant Director.
William Kamkwamba
Founder, Moving Windmills
William Kamkwamba was born in Dowa, Malawi, and grew up on his family farm in Masitala Village, Wimbe. Due to severe famine in 2001, his family lacked the funds to pay the $80 in annual school fees and William was forced to drop out of school a few months into his freshman year. For five years he was unable to go to school. Starting at 14, rather than accept his fate, William started borrowing books from a small community lending library, including an 8th grade American textbook, Using Energy, which depicted wind turbines on its cover. He decided to build a windmill to power his family’s home and obviate the need for kerosene, which provided only smoky, flickering, distant and expensive light after dark. William built his first 5-meter windmill out of a broken bicycle, tractor fan blade, old shock absorber, and blue gum trees. After hooking the windmill to a car battery for storage, William was able to power four light bulbs and charge neighbors’ mobile phones. William recreated this success with projects to provide malaria prevention, solar power and lighting, water wells with a solar powered pumps for clean water, a drip irrigation system. William graduated from Dartmouth College in 2014 and started his tenure at Ideo.org as a Global Fellow. William's time at IDEO focused on Human Centered Design and sent him around the world working on projects ranging from sanitation in India to gender-based violence prevention in Kenya. He is now working with WiderNet to develop appropriate technology curriculum that will allow people to bridge the gap between "knowing" and "doing."
Kate Thomas
Assistant County Manager, Washoe County
Kate Thomas is the Assistant County Manager for Washoe County. Prior to that, Kate served as Assistant City Manager. She began her 20+ year career in government overseeing environmental programs for the City of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California. Her employment with a Public Works Department is where she fell in love with local government work and contributing to the betterment of her community. Previously Kate has served as the Deputy Secretary of State for Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for Reno. Kate has a Bachelor of Science degree in Resource Development/Environmental Studies from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix. Kate has served as a board member for the Sierra Arts Foundation and Board President of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, a private 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a cleaner, more beautiful region through education and active community involvement.
Melissa Melero-Moose
Artist
Melissa Melero-Moose is a mixed media visual artist, mother, and a Northern Paiute enrolled with the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM and a Bachelor of Science from Portland State University in Oregon. She exhibits her art regionally and nationally and has won numerous awards and acknowledgement for her work from Nevada Humanities, Nevada Arts Council, SWAIA Indian Market, and artist fellowships from the Nevada Museum of Art, School for Advanced Research, the Southwest Association of Indian Arts and the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe, NM.
Melissa currently lives in Hungry Valley, Nevada working as a professional artist, contributing writer for First American Art Magazine and founder/curator/director of the art collective the Great Basin Native Artists (GBNA). Her works are a part of the permanent collections of the Autry Museum in Los Angeles, CA, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, NM, the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, NV, the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, NM and the Lilley Museum at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is currently a Peter S. Poole Research Fellow at the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV.
Walter Hood
Landscape and Public Artist, Founder of Hood Design Studio, MacArthur Fellow
Walter Hood is the creative director and founder of Hood Design Studio in Oakland, CA. He is also a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and lectures on professional and theoretical projects nationally and internationally. He is a recipient of the 2017 Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Award, 2019 Knight Public Spaces Fellowship, 2019 MacArthur Fellowship, and 2019 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize.
Patrick John
Water Quality Technician, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
Pat John grew up working on a farm in Wadsworth, Nevada near the Truckee River, building fences, feeding cows, working on farm equipment, and raising small farm animals. More recently he started a small herd of cattle and has been learning beekeeping. He received his Associate of Science Degree from Truckee Meadows Community College and is pursuing his BA in environmental studies.
At the Pyramid Lake Department of Natural Resources Pat John works on water sampling, filtering, monitoring air quality, and maintaining the crops at the job worksite. The department uses scientific methods to collect data and interpret or analyze it to determine the overall quality of the resources.
Amiya Gonzalez
Pyramid Lake High School Student
Biography forthcoming.
Debra Harry
Lecturer III, Gender, Race, & Identity Program, University of Nevada, Reno
Biography forthcoming.
Fatima Abbas (Haliwa Saponi)
Director of Policy and Legislative Counsel, National Congress of American Indians, Embassy of Tribal Nations
Biography forthcoming.
Joe Holley
Te-Maok Tribe of Western Shoshone
Biography forthcoming.
Darien Sturges
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Darien Sturges has advised governments on clean energy and infrastructure projects in multiple continents, including Africa, India, Latin America and the Caribbean. He currently leads strategic partnerships for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and previously worked for the World Bank and the Clinton Foundation. He has undergraduate degrees in economics and architecture, and a masters degree in international affairs. He is passionate about the environment and big systems change. Darien currently lives with his two-year-old son in San Francisco, where he runs, swims and semi-regularly attends Burning Man.
Beverly Harry
Native Community Organizer
In 1989, I came to the Great Basin from Flagstaff. I am a member of the Navajo Nation.
These are my four clans.
T ł 'ááshchí'í (The Red Bottom People), Táchii'nii (Red Running Into the Water), Naakai dine'é (The Mexican clan), Honágháahnii (One-walks-around clan)
In indigenous communities, an important relationship is built primarily with kin. It’s amazing how native peoples can hold information to place and capture memory. So this is the connection we have!
So a problem exists with indigenous people through history being removed who from their lands. This is trauma and the only key to this is finding spiritual justice for our people and our Earth Mother.
Today, I work to broadcast the Native Voice in rural communities where racism and prejudice continues to thrive. My aim is building a positive existence with our communities but first working on healing from historical trauma.
Everyday, I work to heal myself.
Nadia Nazar
Zero Hour Founder, Co-Executive Director, & Art Director
Nadia Nazar is a 17-year-old artist and youth climate activist. She is a Founder, Co-Executive Director, and Art Director of the international youth led climate organization, Zero Hour. She uses art as a tool to bring awareness on the climate crisis and other environmental issues. She has been an activist since she was 12 years old. Nadia is a Girl Scout Ambassador. Nadia has taken her environmental efforts to school and her local Indian community in Baltimore. She spoke at the 2018 International Day of the Girl summit at the United Nations Headquarters about the impact of the climate crisis on girls. She also testified at the House Natural Resources’ hearing on climate change urging elected officials to act on climate. She was also one of the lead organizers for the DC Climate Strike on March 15th and September 20th.
David Walker
CEO, Nevada Museum of Art; Burning Man Board Member
Mr. Walker joined the Nevada Museum of Art as Executive Director and CEO in 2007. In addition to establishing a vision and strategic plan for the museum, he launched the museum’s internationally-recognized Center for Art + Environment; increased the operating budget, permanent collections, and endowment; and has renovated and expanded the current Museum facility. Previously, he served 11 years as the Dean of Public Programs at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he created the School of Public Programs and provided the leadership for a new 100,000 square-foot South Campus designed by Daly Genik Architects. During this time, he co-founded The Design High School, a public charter school that employed design-based learning across the curriculum. He also served as director and founding partner of the Walker and Walker Gallery in Santa Monica, and worked five years as an associate with McBain, Rose Partners, an investment banking firm in Los Angeles that specialized in leveraged buyouts. He received a Bachelor’s Degree from Humboldt State University and did his graduate work at the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design.
Crimson Rose
Founding Board Member, Burning Man Project
As a co-founder of Burning Man, the Black Rock Arts Foundation and Burning Man Project, Crimson Rose’s life passion and work have focused on the arts and artistic expression. She began participating in the Burning Man event in 1991, and developed the organization’s Art Department, including the infrastructure, financial and other support services that make possible the large-scale participatory art works that Burning Man is renowned for. With Crimson’s guidance, Burning Man serves as an inspirational limitless canvas, the works of which now find public placement in cities around the world and serve as catalytic sparks for community collaboration.
Victor Pérez-Rul
Artist and Founder of Studio Victor Pérez-Rul;
LAGI Board Member
Víctor Pérez-Rul is a multidisciplinary artist whose ongoing artistic research about energy and life merges futurism, natural sciences, cosmology, and engineering with a strong interest in collaborating with industries, institutions, cities, and landscapes. His solar sculptures, experimental collaborative projects, and large-scale installations propose and explore new ways of understanding and perceiving the universe, energy, and the living.
Victor's work has been showcased at exhibitions in the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Italy, the United States, and Mexico. Victor’s work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts in the United States (NEA) and the National Fund for Arts and Culture (FONCA) in Mexico. Victor’s quest is a neo-futurist approach to the problem of understanding the multidisciplinary crossing between energy and art, urbanism, architecture, and the reconception of our role on the planet.
Yodassa Williams
Writer, entrepreneur, speaker, and performing storyteller
Yodassa Williams is a powerful conjurer of black girl magic (70% Jedi, 30% Sith). A Jamaican American writer, entrepreneur, speaker, and award winning performing storyteller, Yodassa (Yoda) has performed at Beast Crawl, Lit Quake festival, The Black Woman is God Exhibit, The Moth SF, Empowering Women of Color, Burning Man Center Camp and AWP conferences. An alumna of the VONA/Voices Travel Writing program and creator of the podcast “The Black Girl Magic Files,” Yodassa is publishing her debut novel, The Goddess Twins, in 2020.
Yodassa holds a Master’s degree in Fashion Business and runs a wardrobe styling firm in the Bay Area. In 2019, she crafted and project managed ‘Writers Emerging', a wilderness writing retreat for women of color and non-binary people of color that was hosted at Fly Ranch. She has spoken on panels about inclusivity at Burning Man and is writing a memoir of her experiences as a queer black femme Burner. Yodassa grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, but currently resides in the Bay Area.
Zachary Coffin
Artist
Zachary Coffin has been building large-scale kinetic/interactive art for nearly 30 years. A 25-year Burner, he has produced some of the heaviest art on playa, including Temple of Gravity and Colossus. He was a key player in the creation of the Heavy Equipment and Transport (HEaT) department at Burning Man and through this work has become a licensed crane operator for the event with about 15 years of experience helping other artists build their big stupid dreams.
Zach was the first Fellow to be named to Black Rock Labs, and a longtime advocate for alternative energy. He brought the first solar-light tower to the event and has been pushing for Burning Man to reduce its carbon-footprint in every way.
Zach is also a lead development designer for Ecozoic Resources working on the next generation of bio-filtration toilets with a focus on deployment and logistics. The goal is the conversion of Burning Man to complete regenerative human waste disposal within three years and with an eye on the vast and staggeringly wasteful portable toilet market.
Kyle Whyte
George Willis Pack Professor, University of Michigan
Kyle Whyte's research addresses moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples, the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and science organizations, and problems of Indigenous justice in public and academic discussions of food sovereignty, environmental justice, and the anthropocene. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Kyle has partnered with numerous Tribes, First Nations and inter-Indigenous organizations in the Great Lakes region and beyond on climate change planning, education and policy. He is involved in a number of projects and organizations that advance Indigenous research methodologies, including the Climate and Traditional Knowledges Workgroup, Sustainable Development Institute of the College of Menominee Nation, Tribal Climate Camp, and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. He has served as an author on reports by the U.S. Global Change Research Program and is former member of the U.S. Federal Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science and the Michigan Environmental Justice Work Group. Kyle's work has received the Bunyan Bryant Award for Academic Excellence from Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice and Michigan State University's Distinguished Partnership and Engaged Scholarship awards, and grants from the National Science Foundation.
Susie Albright
Water Resource Technician, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
Greetings to all, My name is Susan Albright and I am an enrolled member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. I have worked for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe since 1995. I attended Truckee Meadows Community College pursuing a degree in Business Management. Currently, I am the Water Technician with Pyramid Lake Water Resources Department.
Other positions I have held within the department are Secretary and Water Technician. I have worked with numerous other programs within the department including Noxious Weeds, Geothermal, and Irrigation.
I am proud to serve as a Cultural Monitor for the Natural Resources Department. In this capacity, I supervise any ground disturbing projects to ensure that our tribe’s cultural resources aren't effected. Cultural preservation is of the utmost importance, which is why I continue to educate myself in monitoring techniques and procedures.
A project I take great pride in is our “Hoop House Project.” This initiative has enabled us to show and allow all generations to not only construct these structures, but also how to grow fresh vegetables for a healthier lifestyle. The younger generations have taken great interest in learning about this process and enjoy the harvesting of fresh vegetables. We very well may have some successful farmers/gardeners come out of this project.
Additionally, during the spawning season of our local “cui-ui” my fillet crew and I set up at our Cultural Center to allow visitors and tribal members to learn how to fillet. The fillets then get distributed to our Elders first and then to any others upon request. This is a great time for all to learn about the history of our lake, our historical “cui-ui”, and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.
A goal of mine is to provide the entire Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation with free electricity. My hope is that this will be done thru a successful renewable energy program.
Hank Willis Thomas
Artist
Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture. His work is included in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. His collaborative projects include Question Bridge: Black Males, In Search Of The Truth (The Truth Booth), and For Freedoms, an artist-run initiative for art and civic engagement. In 2017, For Freedoms was awarded the ICP Infinity Award for New Media and Online Platform. Thomas is also a recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship (2018), Guggenheim Fellowship (2018), the AIMIA | AGO Photography Prize (2017), the Soros Equality Fellowship (2017), and is a member of the New York City Public Design Commission.