Vickie Thomas
TREASURER
Vickie Thomas was appointed Communications Director for the City of Detroit by Mayor Mike Duggan in May of 2021. Thomas switched careers after signing off as the City Beat and Morning Drive Reporter for WWJ Newsradio 950 after an illustrious and award winning 30-year career at Detroit’s all-news radio station. She joined WWJ in 1991 after spending 3 years at WDET-FM as a reporter and anchor. Thomas was the first African American woman in radio broadcasting to be inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in April of 2019.
She attended Michigan State University and graduated from Wayne State University, cum laude with an honors degree in broadcast journalism. The highlight of her academic career was as an intern in the office of Congressman Louis Stokes on Capitol Hill where she was instrumental in getting commemorative legislation passed honoring Olympic Gold Medalist Jesse Owens.
Throughout her radio career, she has earned awards from the Detroit Press Foundation, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, the Michigan Associated Press and the National Association of Black Journalists. She received the national “Gabriel Award” for the WWJ Black History Month Series “The African-American Church: The Heart and Soul of Metro Detroit’s Black Community.” Thomas has received community service awards from Wayne State University, Neighborhood Service Organization, The Detroit Rescue Mission, Highland Park Business Association and many others.
Thomas served as Region II Director of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for five years. During her tenure on the national board, she led the effort to bring the organization’s national convention to Detroit in 2018 and received the “NABJ President’s Award” as a result of her efforts to make the gathering a huge success. Thomas is also a past president of the Detroit Chapter of NABJ. While serving as vice president of the local chapter, Thomas started a scholarship and internship program for college students interested in the field of broadcast news.
Thomas served as co-host of the Michigan Chronicle’s “Pancakes and Politics” series for over a decade. She helped organized her colleagues to win union representation at WWJ in 1996 and served as the SAG-AFTRA union steward until her retirement. Thomas also served as a member of the union’s national broadcast steering committee.