“I am so excited to be here at Emory, processing several collections focused on Jewish people and Jewish history in the south.” – Tierra Thomas

Tierra Thomas is the new visiting archivist for the Southern Jewish Collection in the Rose Library. Prior to this position, Tierra spent two years as a graduate research assistant at the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She also spent two years as a student assistant at the Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives.

Born in Canonsburg, PA (outside of Pittsburgh), Tierra has a bachelor’s degree in history, with a minor in African-American studies, from Georgia State University, and a master’s degree in library science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Despite being from Pennsylvania, Tierra has two sisters and a brother who also live in Atlanta. “I still visit my hometown often to see my huge extended family, especially for the holidays.”

In her spare time, Tierra enjoys reading and has picked up a renewed interest in gaming. Some games she loves include the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Sims, and World of Warcraft. When there isn’t a pandemic outside, she enjoys going to the movies.

“I am so excited to be here at Emory, processing several collections focused on Jewish people and Jewish history in the south. Atlanta especially has a large community of Jewish people, and I hope that in getting these collections organized for use, it’ll facilitate further research into their history,” says Tierra. “And although we haven’t been able to meet in person or work together in the same space, I am thrilled to be working with such a great group of folks here at the Rose and in LITS more generally. I’m also glad to be starting this position at the same time as my friend and coworker from UNC, Anicka Austin.”

You can reach her at tierra [dot] marie [dot] thomas [at] emory [dot] edu.