Alyah Thomas

Background

About Alyah Thomas

Alyah [uhh-LEE-yuh] Thomas (she/her/hers) is the Accessibility and Partnerships Manager at Ability Central, an organization ensuring that people who are d/Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent can equitably access information and communicate. She manages a $1 million annual grants portfolio and collaborates with nonprofits on initiatives that address the systemic barriers a person with disabilities may encounter in healthcare, education, employment, and their communities. She also facilitates workshops and presentations, often highlighting the work of grantees, to educate on disability inclusion and accessibility to audiences in philanthropy, human resources, technology, human rights and beyond. Before Ability Central, Alyah supported a program providing free telecommunications equipment and training to DeafBlind people in California. Partnering with assistive technology trainers, she completed intakes and assessments before assisting in procuring, setting up, delivering and providing training on devices like iPhones with braille displays or desktop computers with magnification software and large-print keyboards. Deeply passionate about the empowerment of marginalized communities, Alyah sits on the Board of Directors for two organizations in California. The Peninsula Endowment, a grantmaker promoting access to written materials for people who are blind or visually impaired, and Champions in Service, a gang-intervention, violence prevention, and re-entry services organization in the San Fernando Valley.