Gwen-Marie Thomas, Professor of Business and Management at West Los Angeles College passed away the week of November 15, 2010 at her home. Memorial information will be posted in WestWeek when it becomes available. She will be dearly missed. “The greatest failure in life is not to try!” A DEDICATED EDUCATOR For over 21 years, Professor Thomas was a valued instructor at West. Many students looked to her as a mentor and credited her for being a turning point in their lives. In addition to being a full-time instructor, she served as Vice-Chair of the Business Department, Project Manager of the Vocational Training and Education Management Program, Council Member of WLAC UMOJA Black Student Movement Project, International Student Program Faculty Ambassador (Africa, Iran and China), Co- Advisor of the Phi Beta Lambda Business Club and Interim Director for the WLAC Foundation. At age 26, already nine years out of high school, Professor Thomas began college to earn the degree that would allow her to advance in management at IBM. She faced many challenges as an older day student. However, she pursued and earned her AA at West. It was the start of a journey into an entirely new career. After earning a BA and MSA in administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills, she accepted a position as an instructor of Business in 1989, in order to “give back” to the institution that had started her on her new career path. Professor Thomas believed her role was to develop the “whole person” – academically, socially, culturally, globally, politically, financially and spiritually. She took an active role in her students’ lives, regularly seeking and sponsoring external learning opportunities, such as, visits to the Los Angeles Black Business Expo, US Asia Expo, Pan African Film Festival, Hispanic Business Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Conference, Pacific Stock Exchange and LC Green Financial and Real Estate Seminars. She also organized campus Student Voter Registration Campaigns and was the benefactor for two WLAC scholarships: “My Heroine” and “No Stopping Me Now.” She challenged students to think critically and meet high standards of academic performance. Her dedication as an educator was recognized by numerous awards including: • Educating Young Minds, Inc., 2010 Humanitarian of the Year • Frederick Douglass High School: 2010 Wall of Fame • Alpha Gamma Sigma Honors Society: 2010 AGS Awardee • African Focus, Inc., Family Induction Ceremony, Cameroon Family (Tikar Tribe) Inductee • WLAC Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society, Teacher Excellence Award • Mc-Graw-Hill Publisher, National Business Textbook Development Advisor • Oxford University, Certificate of Completion: Requisite Residence Member of the Oxford Round Table, Discussion Leader • National Frederick Douglass Alumni Association, Inc., National Community Service Award • California State Assembly, Commissioner, Advisory Select Committee on Community Colleges and Advisory Select Committee on Urban Youth • Turning Point Magazine African American Business Summit, Living History Maker Honoree • Educational Communications, Inc., Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers • Sheriff Lee Baca and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Clergy Council, Certificate of Appreciation, Outstanding Contributions in Education, 2003 • Acting Governor Gray Davis, State Proclamation, Gwen-Marie Thomas Day, Sacramento, CA, 1998 • University of Texas, NISOD Teaching Excellence Award A LIFETIME OF SERVICE Professor Thomas learned the value of service from her family in Memphis, Tennessee. An active volunteer, both locally and abroad, she served as a member of the Board of Directors for West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Los Angeles, a 24,000 member congregation. She acted as a Certified Community Mediator for the West Angeles Church Community Development Corporation and as a member of the Board of Directors for Jefferson Park Community Improvement Project. She made trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya with her church visiting orphanages, elementary schools and AIDS projects to donate personal funds, books, school supplies and shoes to children. In 2006, she partnered with California State Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally to secure a $50,000 donation from Estee Lauder Cosmetics for Save Africa’s Children. As an advocate for literacy, Professor Thomas served as Community Liaison for California Literacy, Inc. After the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles, she founded and coordinated the West Angeles Literacy Empowerment Team (WALET), an eight-member volunteer group of West Angeles Church. The organization taught homeless men and women, former inmates and adults to read, write and life skills. By 1996, the WALET tutor team was comprised of 110 people and served over 300 adults in South and Southwest Los Angeles. The organization was recognized as the largest volunteer group in the City of Los Angeles. .