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SHEILA THOMAS Inaugural alchemist award
by Creative Artists Agency
When Sheila Thomas enters a room, something changes. Her presence is calm yet commanding — a quiet force that draws people inward before urging them to reach outward. To Thomas, “giants” are not distant legends, but untapped reservoirs of courage, creativity and justice already living within us. Her life’s work has been to awaken them.
Thomas, the director of family services for the Watts Labor Community Action Committee in Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.A., speaks with both tenderness and fire. She describes giants as the powers within that “sleep inside us until we dare to call them by name.” In communities often silenced or overlooked, she sees not limitation, but dormant brilliance. Her mission: to help people recognize their magnitude and step fully into it.
It is this unwavering commitment to transformation that makes Thomas the inaugural 2025 Alchemist Award honoree. Culturs celebrates individuals who cross boundaries, challenge narratives and alchemize struggle into strength. Thomas embodies that ethos.
Her philosophy is deceptively simple: awakening a giant begins with naming it. That might mean confronting fear, reclaiming identity or reimagining possibility. Once named, giants do what giants do — they rise. And in rising, they inspire others to do the same.
Thomas’ message is not reserved for the privileged few. It is universal, resonating across borders and identities. Whether mentoring young leaders, building bridges across cultures or standing at the front of a stage, she reminds us that greatness is not distant — it is already here, waiting.
Thomas challenges us all: “What giant within you is ready to be unleashed?”
The answer may very well shape the world to come.
To learn more about the transformative work of the Unleashing Giants organization, scan the code below. cultursmag.com/genius-in-the-hood-providing-
