During January 2024, the AAUW Port Townsend branch is recognizing Velda Thomas, a woman of the diverse global majority. Thomas has lived in Port Townsend for over sixteen years. She is a writer, poet and published author. She is also well known for her work in holistic health, shamanic work, and as a ritual leader. “Love of creative expression has been a constant thread running through my life.” Whether visual, written or performance, she has dabbled in it all blending genres to expose distinct hybrid forms of personal expression. Her current practices and interests include sound, somatic movement, clay, printmaking, poetry and personal narrative. In December 2023 she completed an art residency at Fort Worden. She believes that now is a time for her to combine all her gifts into a focus on community wellness and support. “We need one another to resonate, create, and hold each other,” Thomas states. She asks something we can all consider, “How can I be more human-caring?” She is also currently focused on the needs of the local BIPOC community.

She is married, and has two grown children. From her website, Thomas was “born in England, UK with family ancestry sourced from Africa, the Caribbean and the America’s. She has worked as a fashion designer, kindergarten teacher, adult educator, birth doula, massage therapist, and sound practitioner.”