Demo conference event - 2022

Thomas was born in Chicago, IL and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He was born to a single, teenage mother. After various arguments with his parents and aunts, he dropped out of high school and lived homeless on the streets of Detroit for two years.[5][6][7][8][9][10] While he was homeless, he met a preacher who inspired him to go back to school and eventually change lives.[9] He also took a job at an Olive Garden on the westside of Detroit.[10] Around this time, Thomas met his wife, De-De Mosley, at the Detroit Center Seventh-day Adventist Church.[10] They then moved to Huntsville, Alabama, attended Oakwood University, and they were married as college students.[10] Thomas spent twelve years working toward an undergraduate degree at Oakwood and graduated in 2001.[11] While in Huntsville, Thomas preached and set up a program to help underprivileged youth.[10] Career Michigan State University In 2003, Thomas took a job with Michigan State University (MSU) along with a fellowship to attend MSU to complete his master's degree in K-12 Administration with an emphasis in Educational Leadership. He worked as an academic adviser to disadvantaged students at MSU.[10] At MSU, he helped develop an undergraduate retention program called The Advantage with fellow academic advisor and motivational speaker DeAndre Carter which targeted academically high-risk Black and Latino students. He also served as senior pastor at A Place of Change Ministries (APOC Ministries) in Lansing, Michigan.[12] Thomas attained a master's degree from MSU in 2005, and a PhD in Education Administration in 2015.[13] Motivational speaker After becoming known as a preacher and motivational speaker, Thomas founded a company to offer education consulting, executive coaching and athletic development. Thomas has given motivational talks to collegiate and professional athletes.[14][15][16] Thomas has appeared on Fox News to discuss his work,[17] and portions of his sermons can be heard on the track "Intro" of deep house producers Disclosure's 2013 debut album, Settle, Hip-hop/R&B artist Foster's track "Hard Times" in 2016, and on the intro track "Wins and Losses" to rapper Meek Mill's 2017 album of the same name. In 2020, he reunited with Disclosure to speak on the song "Energy", which was released as the lead track from their third album Energ

As of 2022, Eric Thomas' net worth is roughly $5 million. Eric D. Thomas is an American motivational speaker, minister, and author from Chicago. Thomas has been known as the “hip-hop preacher” and is mostly known on his channel on YouTube. As of 2022, Eric Thomas' net worth is roughly $5 million. Eric D. Thomas is an American motivational speaker, minister, and author from Chicago. Thomas has been known as the “hip-hop preacher” and is mostly known on his channel on YouTube. As of 2022, Eric Thomas' net worth is roughly $5 million. Eric D. Thomas is an American motivational speaker, minister, and author from Chicago. Thomas has been known as the “hip-hop preacher” and is mostly known on his channel on YouTube.

Dr. Jody Brook received her Ph.D., with honors, from the University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare in 2005, where she is currently an Associate Professor. She has served as the Program Evaluator for 16 externally funded research projects across 3 US States which center on designing, implementing, monitoring, refining, and evaluating the ongoing implementation of services and program practices into the public child welfare, behavioral health, and court related service delivery systems that serve vulnerable child welfare involved families. Dr. Brook’s scholarship focuses on the impact of parental substance abuse and child maltreatment, and the design and delivery of public services to impact this issue. She earned her Master of Social Work at Tulane University in 1988 and has maintained a license to practice at the clinical level since 1991.

Crystal Rozelle – Bennett, LMSW has been working with youth and families for nearly 20 years. She is committed to empowering, engaging, educating and advocating in order to implement trauma-informed strategies for individuals and communities. Mrs. Bennett earned a Bachelor’s in Arts in Psychology from Wells College and went on to complete her Masters in Social Work from Florida State University. During her career, Ms. Bennett has demonstrated a passion in sharing her personal and professional experiences with others to serve marginalized individuals and prevent re-traumatization. She has experience in directing child & youth service programs for the Department of the Navy with a history of providing program oversight and accountability in accordance with the Department of Defense, COA, & BGCA Requirements. Additionally, she has consulted with schools on policy development and has managed residential treatment facilities and foster care programs. Ms. Bennett is a life longer learner and has provided education and support to foster families, facilitated psychoeducation programs for youth, responded to crisis hotline calls for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and trained behavioral healthcare professionals in the areas of Human Trafficking, Suicide Prevention, Child Trauma/Maltreatment, Motivational Interviewing, Racial Trauma, Cultural Competency and serving LGBT youth.