Ayo

Ayo K. Thomas serves creative and cultural initiatives across local, national, and international communities.  

With degrees in Arts and Cultural Management (M.A.) and International Business (B.S), she has developed an acute skill for artfully navigating links between institutions, individuals, place, culture, and commonality and elevating relationships as a critical framework of vibrant communities.

As a researcher, strategist, storyteller, and advocate, her guiding principle is agency: the fundamental belief that every person, place, AND thing represents its existence and circumstance if only we cultivate the appropriate tools of interpretation. Her experiences with agriculture and the arts are foundational in bearing witness to environmental relationships. Ayo believes that cultural institutions, parks, and civic commons, collectively public spaces, are critical indicators of community vitality that require competent, diligent investment informed by precursory knowledge and care.

As Community Engagement Associate for Belle Isle Conservancy, Ayo emphasizes conscientiousness, strategic thinking, and collaboration to balance the needs of the land with the values of residents and visitors to plan for and connect with diverse interests and identities to benefit guest experience, civic engagement, and community wellness. 

She continues personal and professional development centered around the socioeconomic impact of environmental relationships and creativity as a mechanism for encouraging each generation to go back, honor, and acknowledge the past and bring forward what is applicable to maintain vibrant communities with hope for the future.