Jada Thrash –Event Manager

Jada Thrash is currently a senior at Central Michigan University. She is a four-year member of the Sarah R. Opperman Leadership Institute, and maintains a 3.95 GPA as a double-major in Public and Nonprofit Administration as well as Recreation and Event Management. She has also completed requirements for minors in both Leadership and Communication.

Last summer she was thrilled to be a Leadership for Change Intern with the Smithsonian Institutions and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Intern with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.  Currently she is completing her final internship requirement as an Events Intern with the Kalamazoo Experiential Learning Center, enjoying fantastic on-the-job learning through planning and executing events across Kalamazoo County and beyond.

Jada is passionate about using her voice for positive change in her community and inspiring others to do the same.  Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, Atlanta, and Philadelphia before moving to Kalamazoo a decade ago, she found her voice as part of over 40 plays, musicals, TV appearances, movies, public speaking competitions, and public speeches.  At CMU, Jada strived to help others use their voices by leading local K-12 students through environmental education workshops; as a member of the campus-wide Leadership Council; helping younger students find their leadership voice as a facilitator in the Spark Leadership Series; and as one of four students selected to choose the 2023 Leadership Institute cohort.