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Keisha J. Rhines-Thomas
is a Clinical Informatics Master’s Student at Oregon Health and Sciences University
(
OHSU
)
and
an Electrical Engineer with over
11
years of experience.
Keisha J
.
Rhines-
Thomas was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY
, where her family is
from the Caribbean and North Carolina.
Keisha
graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Physics/Engineering Emphasis from Delaware State University in 1999. During Keisha’s time at Delaware State University, Keisha interned over the summers at the University of New York at Stony Brook, NASA Langley Virginia, and the University of Connecticut, working in physics/optoelectronics engineering and nanotechnology research
.
+
Dr.
Keisha J. Rhines-Thomas (
Dr. Thomas
)
is
an Electrical Engineer with over
14
years of experience.
Dr
. Thomas was born and raised in
poverty, as a middle child in a blended family of seven children from the Crown Heights section of
Brooklyn, NY
. Dr. Thomas's parents are
from
the islands of Trinidad and St. Vincent (located in
the Caribbean
),
and
from eastern
North Carolina.
She
graduated
from John Dewey High School in 3 years
with a
Regent's Honors Diploma
.
−
Keisha received her M
.
S.E.E
(
2004
) and
PhD
(
2009
)
in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
.
She was selected as the Student Body Speaker at
her
Master’s graduation.
Keisha
has worked at Duke Energy as a Transmission and Distribution Planning Engineer (Charlotte
,
NC)
,
Lexmark International as a Hardware Sensor Design Electrical Engineer (Lexington
,
KY)
, and
at Intel Corporation as a Facilities Power Systems Electrical Engineer in Hillsboro, Oregon
.
Keisha
also completed
a Facilities Management Certification program
at
Arizona State
University
. Intel honored Keisha
with
over 11 awards
,
including work on leading
the
commissioning completion
of
a Data Center in two weeks
,
and leading
the
shutdown
of
an entire facility with no resulting issues or problems
.
+
Dr
.
Thomas started her college education at Delaware State University
(
DSU
)
playing the baritone horn in the DSU Marching Band, participated in Gospel Choir,
and
volunteered in community service activities through an education sorority
(
Kappa Omicron Tau
).
However, by sophomore year, to fund
her
college education,
Keisha
had to quit activities to work full-time while attending school full-time in various jobs including: natural hair care stylist
,
maintenance worker
,
tutor
,
security officer
, and
fast-food worker
.
She
also completed
summer internships
at
the
University
of New York at Stony Brook, NASA at Langley, Virginia (
with
an extended co-op during the following semester)
,
and
the
University
of
Connecticut
,
working in
the
fields
of
Opto-electronics engineering and Nanotechnology research
.
−
During
Dr.
Rhines
-
Thomas’s spare
time,
she volunteers
as a
member
of the
service Sorority organization
,
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
,
Inc
. in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based program called the Shabazz Delta Academy, where she is the Chair.
Keisha
also
leads fundraising efforts and serve
as Assistant Treasurer and Chair of Education Programs for the Sorority at the June Key Delta Community Center, located in the Northeast section of Portland, Oregon.
Keisha enjoys spending time with her husband, Paul, and family of 4 children
and
is a fan of the
United States
National League baseball team, the Mets.
+
Subsequently,
Dr.
Thomas received her M.S.E.E (2004) and PhD (2009) in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte while working full
-time
as an Electrical Engineer
,
and
as a
parent
of
two small children. She was selected as Student Body Speaker at her Master’s degree graduation, and was nominated and awarded "Outstanding Graduate Student" by UNC-Charlotte's William States Lee College of Engineering upon graduation with her PhD. Furthermore, Dr. Thomas was featured in
the
magazine
,
"Minority Engineer" in the Spring 2011 issue.
+
+
Dr. Thomas’s career experience includes work at: Duke Energy as a Transmission and Distribution Planning Engineer (Charlotte
,
NC), Lexmark International as a Hardware Sensor Design Electrical Engineer (Lexington, KY), Intel Corporation as a Facilities Power Systems Electrical Engineer (Hillsboro, OR), and Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) as a Post-Doctoral Researcher in Clinical Informatics
.
She received a patent award for her work
in a
printer capacitive toner level sensor invention. Keisha also completed a fast-track Facilities Management Certification program at Arizona State University in 2013.
+
+
Dr. Thomas remains politically active in her spare time. She started being involved in political campaigns as young as 13 years old when she volunteered as a phone bank, and since, has assisted in canvassing, Get-Out-The-Vote efforts, voter registration, and fundraising/event planning. In addition, she has graduated from the Emerge Oregon program (class of 2013). Keisha's most important passion is education and mentoring under-represented youth, as she was once one herself. Since 2002, she has volunteered, developed and managed coding and computer education camps, ran after-school tutoring programs, and continues to currently manage
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
-based programs, and mentor youth and young engineering professionals. Keisha is a dedicated member of the service Sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and spends a considerable amount of her spare time volunteering in a STEM
-based program called the
Dr. Betty
Shabazz Delta Academy, where she is the Chair.
She
also
serves
as Assistant Treasurer and Chair of Education Programs for the Sorority at the June Key Delta Community Center, located in the Northeast section of Portland, Oregon. Keisha
's work with the Portland Alumnae Chapter's Education Programs has earned her the Steve Lowenstein Trust Award for 2016. Dr. Thomas
enjoys
socializing, long walks, nature, and
spending time with her husband
of 17 years
, Paul, and family of 4 children
. Keisha
is a
long-time
fan of the
New York-based
National League baseball team, the Mets.