Paula Thomas

Paula Thomas, M.S., is a lecturer in the Restaurant Management department at MSU Denver. Her areas of expertise include food and sustainability within ecology, biodiversity and food policy.

Thomas has worked in hospitality for 20 years, from the kitchen to the nonprofit world and global grassroots organizations like Slow Food International. She is an environmentalist with the goal of developing sustainable practices for the hospitality industry to form conscious future leaders. She trained with MAD Academy in Copenhagen in Environment & Sustainability for hospitality, and currently serves as a mentor in the James Beard Foundation Legacy Network.

Thomas is active in the Denver community as a board member of the Denver Sustainability Food Policy Council working with other local leaders to disrupt systemic issues in the food system.

Thomas received her master’s in science in world food cultures and mobility from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in 2019, a bachelors in journalism for food and wine from Metropolitan State University of Denver and an associate’s degree in culinary arts from the Art Institute.