Anita Thomas has been the Executive Director of Carolyn Dorfman Dance since 2009. She is one of a handful of People of Color leading a majority arts organization in New Jersey. Since 2016, the company has been recognized by the NJ State Arts Council for its excellence in artistic quality, programming, and public service in the arts.

She is the former Executive Director of Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn and the founding Executive Director of Youth Entertainment Studios (YES), Inc., a national media arts organization focused on at-risk youth. She has an extensive and eclectic background in the telecommunications and healthcare industries, embracing community activism, a passion for the arts and social issues, global marketing, fundraising, and organizational development consulting with not-for-profits and small businesses.

She holds a BS degree in Community Development from Penn State University and an MA degree in Media Studies from The New School for Social Research. The first half of her career was in business sales, consumer marketing, and new business development management within the AT&T family of companies, concluding her telecom career at Lucent Technologies as a District Manager, Global Marketing Events.

In December 2020, Ms. Thomas was appointed to the ArtPride Board of Directors after serving as a volunteer on their Strategic Planning and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees. Since 2009, she has been a founding Steering Committee member of the NJ Main Street Alliance (a coalition of progressive small NJ businesses originally operating as a project under NJ Citizen Action). In 2018, she was appointed to the NJCA Board of Directors.