User:Roselanwa/sandbox

Raquel Riley Thomas, born Feb 16, 1973, is a director, producer, pageant queen, activist and entrepreneur. She is the owner, executive producer and director of Mrs. DC America pageant, an official preliminary pageant to Mrs. America.

Riley Thomas, a decorated U.S. Army Officer, was honorably discharged from the military in 2002 and within months was signed with Ford Models (New York) and Elite Models (Atlanta). The 5’9” model soon appeared in lifestyle ads, including advertisements for 5-star restaurants, private planes, resorts and yacht companies. She was the cover model of an international Coca-Cola advertisement. Riley Thomas is currently featured on two hair product boxes and is the face of Unilever’s "Beautifully" product campaign in stores throughout the country.

In 2010, Riley Thomas was crowned Mrs. Maryland America. She went on to compete against 50 delegates to win the title of Mrs. America first runner-up.

In September 2011, Riley Thomas launched a veteran-owned company, An Officer and Gentlewoman LLC. The company bought the rights to Mrs. D.C. America, an official preliminary pageant to the Mrs. America pageant. Riley Thomas is the owner-operator for Mrs. D.C. America and oversees the day-to-day operations of the pageant organization and is responsible for producing the annual pageant show.

In recent years, Riley Thomas has been active with the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention in honor of her mother, who took her own life March 2013. Riley Thomas is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., Military Officers Association of America and Women in Media.

Riley Thomas was named a “Leader of the Future,” by Ebony Magazine and has been featured in “Who’s Who of America,” for four consecutive years. For her commitment to fighting for veteran's employment rights, Riley Thomas was named “Veteran of the Year" in 2011 by the organization Women Veterans Rock. Riley Thomas was featured in “People on the Move,” by the Washington Business Journal in June 2012.

MILITARY AND EDUCATION

1990 U.S. Army Basic Training

1991 U.S. Army Advance Training: 46Q Photojournalist

1991-93: 46Q Photojournalist

1993-95 Squad leader/radio operator 1995-98 Reserve Officer Training Officer at Hampton University 1998-Graduated from Hampton University with a bachelor’s in psychology 1998-2002-Army Ordnance Officer

2002: Honorable discharge from the US. Army

PHOTOGRAPHY CAREER AND MODELING

2000-2009: Photographer, Jet Magazine

2002-09 Owner, Photography by Raquel

2002-1008 Model, Commercial, Ford Models, New York

2002-2008 Model, Commercial Elite Models, Atlanta

2002-2008 Model, Directions, North Carolina

TELEVISION

Veterans Affairs News, news anchor, Dept. of Veterans Affairs

Mrs. America Pageant 2010-11, first runner-up, Mrs. America, Inc.

Mrs. Maryland America 2010-11, titleholder/winner, Mrs. Maryland America Organization

"All My Children," Bridal Shop Attendant (U5), ABC Productions

"All My Children," Gate Attendant (U5), ABC Productions

"Emeril Lagasse" cooking show, Principal-Busy Mom, Discovery Com, Inc.

"America’s Most Wanted," Desk Attendant (U5), Fox Productions

"24," Waitress, Think Films/Fox

“She’s Got The Look” Season Two, Principal-Model Finalist, Allison Grodner Productions

"Travel Television," On-air personality, Friedman Productions

"The Monty Awards," On-air personality, Montgomery County Access

COMMERCIALS (*National/regional spots)


 * Doritos commercial, Lead-Soldier, New Wave Productions


 * HGTV, Lead-Spokesperson, Scripps Network, Inc.


 * The Clean Team, Lead-Spokesperson, BET, Inc.


 * Hair product commercial, Lead-Spokesperson, Dudley’s Q Company


 * Newspaper commercial, Lead-Young mother, Take10 Productions


 * Car dealership commercial, Lead-Car buyer, Ritz Marketing

Drink commercial, Principal-Martial arts woman, Solaris Productions

FILM

"The Last Adam," Principal-Tracy Jackson, The Artists Collective

"Living with Faith" Lead-Alicia Bronner, AlliWay Productions

"Diary of a Mad Black Woman," Photo Double for Lead Actress, DOMBW, Inc

"Motives," Photo Double for Lead Actress, Motive Productions, LLC

"The Fighting Temptations," Featured-Funeral attendee, Paramount Pictures

INDUSTRIAL

Laureate, Susan Laureate

FEMA Disaster Preparedness News reporter, CDPC

Astute Technology Supervisor, Astute Technology

BDmetrics Spokesperson, BDmetrics

Leadership Industrial Army Sergeant, Mind and Media, Inc

Atlanta Gas and Light Manager, Eli Learning Center

DIY Homebuyer, Springboard Creative

ELI Manager, Eli Learning Center

McKesson Employee, McKesson

Family life

Married Feb. 14, 2006 to former Army Ordinance Officer, West Point football player and Attorney Ron Thomas. They have four daughters in a blended family,

Mrs. DC America Pageant September 2011: Launched An Officer and Gentlewoman, LLC

September 2011: Acquired the rights to Mrs. DC America

•	Mrs. DC America 2012- Arika Burton

•	Mrs. DC America 2013-Meagan Barnes (Top 15 at Mrs. America 2013)

•	Mrs. DC America 2014-Meredith Egwuatu (Fitness Award at Mrs. America 2014)

•	Mrs. DC America 2015-Elaine Espinola Keltz (Selected among Washington Business Journal’s “People on the Move”)

Publications

Washingtonian Mom, Winter 2014

Her Life Magazine, November 2014

Fitness Magazine Spotlight

Ladies DC-Woman of the Week

Washington Business Journal

The Little Black Blog

Snobswap.com

Galtime

Women Veteran's Rock

GI Jobs magazine

International Business Times

Cooking with Emeril

Enchanting Woman feature article