Reana Thomas

Experience

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  Life Time Inc.

  Oct 2008 - Aug 2011

  Cafe Member

  Customer service, food preparation, cleaning the cafe

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  LUC Raag

  Mar 2011 - May 2014

  Co-Founder and Co-President

  Organized and managed Loyola's first South-Asian American A Cappella team, which aims to bring greater cultural awareness to Loyola's campus and the greater Chicago community.

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  Loyola University Chicago

  Aug 2011 - May 2014

  Student Intern for Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs

  • Aided the staff with aspects such as data input and departmental events. • Created a scholarship database for minority students.• Headed the Diversity Council (meeting with the cultural and social justice organizations on Loyola's campus)

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  YRG CARE and ECO Kitchen

  Jun 2013 - Jul 2013

  Intern

  YRG CARE is India's leading foundation on the care, support, research, and treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS. ECO Kitchen is a not-for-profit, local organization that feeds families in need and empowers women in the community. They encourage entrepreneurship amongst women who are widowed or have been abused. This industrial kitchen is capable of making up to 30,000 meals a day and distributing them throughout Chennai. My position entailed:• Community survey development for new marketing ideas• Organizing the Research Team for the survey by creating respective documents for the survey• Data collection and distribution• Assisting with project proposals• Researching NGOs • Arranging presentation materials • Shadowing health care professionals (counselors, physicians, nurses, etc...) at YRG Clinic Show less

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  Pulitzer Center

  May 2014 - Sept 2014

  Student Reporting Fellow

  • Conducted interviews and research in Kashmir, India on ecological injustices at Wular Lake• Produced three articles and audio visual media for the Pulitzer Center

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  AmeriCorps NCCC

  Oct 2014 - Jul 2015

  NCCC Member: Assistant Team Leader

  • Lived and worked cooperatively with a team of 10 members while closely assisting four vastly different non-profit organizations in Kansas, Arizona, and Texas for a total of 1840 service hours• Mitigated flood damage on the trails of Helland Park in Junction City, Kansas over the course of six weeks by reconstructing previously established trails, clearing two miles of new trail, and through basic engineering by constructing a 16 foot wooden bridge• Recorded basic demographic information for over 2000 Navajo residences in six weeks for the Navajo Nation Addressing Authority by going door-to-door in Fort Defiance, Arizona • Reconstructed 16 old classrooms into guest rooms for the Sonoran Desert Conference Center with a team of nine others for two weeks under the supervision of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance in Ajo, Arizona• Supported early education students, teachers, and staff members at Generation One, a local non-profit serving Houston’s Third Ward, for 13 weeks with a team of nine members Show less

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  AIDS United

  Aug 2015 - Jul 2016

  AmeriCorps Member at MetroHealth Cleveland: Team Coordinator

  • Served as a liaison and a facilitator between AIDS United Headquarters and a team of eight Corps Members placed at various host agencies in Cleveland, OH• Counseled patients living with HIV at Cleveland’s MetroHealth hospital by providing emotional support and connecting to city-wide social services• Improved and implemented an HIV medication adherence incentive program for MetroHealth’s infectious disease department through patient outreach and program analysis • Promoted community supported agriculture for low-income individuals and families by hosting a fresh produce table every week through the co-op City Fresh• Organized an HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness campaign for the greater metropolitan area with a team of eight Show less

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  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

  Dec 2016 - Dec 2017

  Research Health Science Specialist at CSPEC-Durham

  • Data abstractor for the Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham• Coordinate with VA research sites around the country for specimen retrieval• Assist with SOPs and Protocols for the CSP #380 study• Conduct a systematic review with the Health Disparities Work Group

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  North Carolina Divison of Public Health: Injury and Violence Prevention Branch

  Apr 2017 - May 2018

  Graduate Student Consultant

  • Created an annotated bibliography to understand the landscape of opioid-related state policies and programs • Facilitated 4 focus groups with Emergency Medical Services personnel to gain their perspective on the opioid epidemic in North Carolina and to understand how to increase capacity for collaboration with the division of public health• Crafted and administered a survey intended for people who use drugs at 4 syringe exchange sites in the state• Developed partnerships with 4 syringe exchange programs around North Carolina for participant recruitment• Analyzed quantitative and qualitative data to co-author 2 reports around EMS, Law Enforcement, and people who use drugs Show less

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  UNC Chapel Hill Center for AIDS Research

  Aug 2017 - Apr 2019

  Graduate Research Assistant

  • Support the Social and Behavioral Sciences Core for the UNC CFAR• Conduct systematic reviews using Mendeley and Covidence • Coordinate events and a newsletter for the PrEP Scientific Working Group• Facilitate manuscript submissions for CFAR principal investigators • Planned and hosted a networking event

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  FHI 360

  Aug 2018 - Sept 2022

  • Organized, coordinated, managed, and adapted project content, meetings, and timelines for various activities within 6 different reproductive health and HIV-related programs moving evidence to practice • Communicated with donors & external partners on project status updates • Conducted extensive, and rapid, literature and systematic reviews for development of deliverables, including programmatic adaptations and gender, youth, and environmental analyses• Wrote and presented recommendations for gender transformative program implementation• Reviewed, developed, and disseminated briefs, program curricula, proposal submissions, presentations, and manuscripts• Analyzed quantitative and qualitative data for program development and program evaluation• Supported business development initiatives Show less • Conducted a systematic review to inform the development of an adolescent boys and young men mentoring program curriculum using EndNote and Covidence• Transcribed, coded, and analyzed qualitative data from studies around LARCs and decentralization of HIV clinics in Nigeria and Mozambique, respectively • Organized internal company strengths data for business development purposes• Drafted concept notes for new business development opportunities• Developed posters and presentations for various conferences • Edited program reports and wrote manuscripts based on those reports Show less

  • Technical Officer

    Apr 2019 - Sept 2022

  • Research Utilization Intern

    Aug 2018 - Apr 2019
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  SBI Youth for India

  Oct 2022 - May 2023

  Rural Development Fellow

  While I did not complete the full 13-month fellowship due to personal reasons, it was a great experience learning more about grassroots NGO work in India. I worked with the NGO BAIF/BISLD on understanding the health needs of the rural agrarian tribal population in Jawhar, Maharashtra

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  Missouri Foundation for Health

  Oct 2023 - now

  Strategist

  Primarily supporting the Opportunity Fund - focused on systems change and health equity.