Thomas, where she teaches courses in the arts of Africa and the African Diaspora and women's art from a cross-cultural perspective. She holds a B.A. from the University of New Orleans and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research explores the relationship between art, gender and ethnicity in North Africa. She is currently focusing on the influence of the trans-Saharan slave trade on artistic culture in Morocco. She is the recipient of a Fulbright grant and grants from the American Institute of Maghreb Studies.