Jamila Thomas

Chief Development Officer, VolunteerNow

Cedar Hill, Texas

Jamila Thomas is the chief development officer at VolunteerNow, an organization that mobilizes more than 300,000 volunteers in North Texas. Jamila was previously the senior vice president of Big Brothers Big Sisters, a nonprofit organization that provides youth mentoring to children across the country. Jamila led DEI initiatives across local and national offices, nurtured relationships with corporate partners, ensured effective strategy execution, and developed sustainable funding structures. Prior to this role, Jamila created the Racial Equity Office at the Dallas Independent School District, where she developed culturally responsive policies and programs designed to close the achievement gap and build cultural intelligence among faculty and staff. From there, she wrote the African American Studies curriculum for the Texas State Board of Education and worked tirelessly with communities and trustees to ensure its unanimous passage.