Lori Thomas

Organization:US International University Sports Federation

Lori Thomas was hired as the 1st female commissioner in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) history in 2014. She is from Kansas City and is in her 9th year as the commissioner for the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Lori also is in her 18th year serving on the board as Secretary General for the United States Sports Federation. She has attended over 10 international events for the World University Games. Lori currently serves on three committees for the NAIA; NAIA Champions of Character Advisory Committee, the Respect, Inclusivity, Support and Education (RISE) Committee and the National Coordinating Committee. She is also a presenter for Proactive Coaching, a collegiate volleyball official and a coach for MAVS KC club volleyball. She started her career as a college volleyball assistant coach for 3 years at Missouri State and 2 years at the University of Tulsa. She then went on to work the NAIA for 16 years ending her tenure as Senior Vice President for Membership and Character Initiatives. Lori began her college education at Johnson County Community College where she played volleyball and basketball and was recognized as a Junior College All-American in volleyball in 1988. She then went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Business Management – emphasis in Human Resources from Idaho State University in 1992. She played volleyball for the Bengals for two years and ended her student-athlete experience with basketball in her 5th year. Following graduation, Thomas moved to Kieldrecht, Belgium to play professional volleyball for a year before starting her coaching career. She was also a member of the Kansas City Lightning women's professional volleyball team in 1996. Lori has been inducted in 3 Hall of Fames. - National Junior College Athletics Association - Volleyball - Johnson County Community College– Volleyball - Idaho State University – Volleyball and Basketball

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Lori Thomas

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