Thomas is a 30-year veteran of state employment. She first worked with hearing impaired children at the Kentucky School for the Deaf beginning in 1984. Three years later she joined the Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Northpoint Training Center. While there she worked for a short time as an administrative assistant to the warden and grievance coordinator before being promoted to sergeant in 1989.
In 1994, Thomas was special-detailed to Central Office and for approximately four to five months assisted the parole board in completing parole revocation warrants. She was promoted to lieutenant at Northpoint in 1999 and that same year was named “Supervisor of the Year,” at the prison.
While Thomas was conducting a disciplinary hearing in April 2002, she was taken hostage by an inmate at Northpoint. The inmate held a can lid to her throat but Thomas was able to fight off the attack. Later that year she received a Commissioner’s Award. During her tenure at NTC, Thomas served as a hostage negotiator and was also a member of the prison’s accreditation team for several years.
In January 2003, Thomas was assigned a state monitor’s position under the Contract Management Division. She monitored the contract at the Marion Adjustment Center and also inspected halfway houses in Lexington, Louisville, Paducah, and Owensboro.
In March 2006 Thomas was named acting branch manager of Offender Information at Central Office. She was promoted to the position on a permanent basis in December 2006.
In November 2009 Thomas was promoted to Deputy Warden at the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington.
Thomas is a 2007 graduate of the Commissioner’s Executive Leadership Program. She is a current resident of Danville where she lives with her husband, Randy.