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Anthony Villegas

Commissioner Anthony Villegas, Kansas City, was appointed to the Kansas Human Rights Commission by Governor Kathleen Sebelius in August 2005. Commissioner Villegas retired from the Board of Public Utilities, Kansas City, Kansas in 2004. He had been employed at the Board of Public Utilities since 1978. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Heritage Committee and is a commissioner on the Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority.

Commissioner Villegas also served as Assistant Coordinator for the National Council of La Raza awards presentation of scholarships for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund of Greater Kansas City.

 

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Jerome Williams 

Commissioner Jerome Williams, Wichita, was appointed to the Kansas Human Rights Commission by Governor Kathleen Sebelius in August 2005. Commissioner Williams retired from Raytheon Aircraft Corporations, where he last served as Program Manager T-6A International Programs. He was employed by Raytheon from January 1973 until August 2003.

Commissioner Williams received his Master of Business Administration Degree from Friends University and served in the United States Marine Corps for two years.

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Beth Bradrick Ph.D

Dr. Beth Bradrick resides in Pittsburg, Kansas, with her husband, William, who teaches in the School of Technology at Pittsburg State University. She has two grown daughters, one a nurse in Missouri and the other an educator in Minnesota.

Dr. Bradrick and her family farmed near Cherokee, Kansas while her children were young. Following marital dissolution, she returned to the educational environment as a "displaced homemaker" and continued the role as parent and student through three academic degrees at Pittsburg State University. During that time she focused on vocational, technical and industrial education because she chose to seek a career in a field where she could help others who were experiencing similar situations in their own lives. Throughout the time she was pursuing her academic degrees at Pittsburg State University, she also supported her family financially through operating a full-time bakery and catering service for a four county area of southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri, as well as having a half-time graduate assistantship.

An opportunity to research the role of business and industry in youth organizations such as the Vocational Industrial Clubs (VICA) in Kansas led her to Manhattan, Kansas, to seek a terminal degree in Adult and Occupational Education. Upon earning her doctorate based on an independently designed study of youth working on CETA and JTPA summer programs in 17 counties of southeastern Kansas, she returned to the Pittsburg area. She then worked for a number of funded grant programs on the university campus, as well as in the community at large that served special populations including disadvantaged youth, dislocated workers and the physically challenged.

During this time, she wrote a number of grant proposals that were funded to provide services to clients throughout southeastern Kansas. She has also completed project work for the Kansas Department of Human Resources (now known as the Kansas Department of Labor) working with dislocated workers throughout the area and for industry specific workers at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant in Parsons, Kansas. Most recently, she provided program evaluation and grant writing services on school-to-careers grant proposals at the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center.

Recently, she and a colleague established a consulting service to do proposal writing, present related training workshops, and provide technical assistance to area clients.

Dr. Bradrick is the author of a comprehensive curriculum package on the consumer use of energy and co-author of several short books on issues related to the workplace. She is an active volunteer in a number of civic organizations in her community including the Stilwell Foundation, Friends of the Pittsburg Public Library, International Friends of Pittsburg and the Little Balkans Heritage Guild. She is particularly interested in historic preservation and has taken part in several projects relating to retaining the community's diverse cultural mining heritage.

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Clyde Howard

Commissioner Clyde Howard was appointed to the Kansas Human Rights Commission by Governor Kathleen Sebelius in August 2005. He currently serves as Director of the Office of Affirmative Action at Kansas State University. Commissioner Howard also served as the Director of the State Equal Employment Opportunity Office from October 1988 to July 1994. He also worked as an Investigator for the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights (now the KHRC) from July 1978 to July 1979.

Commissioner Howard received his Master of Public Administration Degree with Honors from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelors of Science Degree from Kansas State University. He also served in the US Army and was presented the Vietnam Cross and several other awards.

Commissioner Howard currently is a member of the Racial and Other Profiling Task Force, and resides in Manhattan.

 

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Lou  Ann Thoms, Chair

Chair Lou Ann Thoms was first appointed to the Kansas Human Rights Commission by Governor John Carlin in July 1982 and served two terms through July 1990.  In July 2002, Commissioner Thoms was appointed to the Commission by Governor Bill Graves. 

Commissioner Thoms was raised on a farm in rural Smith County.  She attended high school in Downs, Kansas, and received an undergraduate degree from Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas.  She graduated cum laude, and was named to the “Who’s Who in College Students of America”.   Commissioner Thoms has completed post-graduate work in Remedial Reading from Kansas State University and in Library Science from Emporia State University.  For ten years, Commissioner Thoms was an elementary school teacher in Kansas and for one year on Guam Island.  In addition to general curriculum, she taught music and art both in Kansas and Guam. 

Commissioner Thoms holds a Real Estate Broker’s License and currently, works in real estate sales with the Coldwell Banker/Griffith and Blair.  During her 35 year career in real estate, Mrs. Thoms served as the Director for the Topeka Institute of Real Estate for 28 years, offering educational courses for Realtors.  She also sponsored seminars and educational classes on topics such as Fair Housing. For 11 years, Mrs. Thoms served as Sales Manager specializing in home sales, relocation, and sales to diverse cultures. 

Commissioner Thoms has been very active in the field of real estate.  Some of her many accomplishments are as follows: 

Recognitions:   Who’s Who in Outstanding Real Estate Agents of America; Kansas Salesperson of the Year; Topeka Salesperson of the Year (2X); Woman of the Year – Women’s Council of Realtors, Topeka; Woman of the Year – Women’s Council of Realtors, Kansas; Omega Tau Rho – National Real Estate Honorary; Topeka Master’s Club – recognizing outstanding consistent sales volume; top real estate agent honors; Volunteer teacher/trainer in real estate related fields; Volunteer for TOTO (Topeka Opportunity To Own)  a program for low income buyers. 

Designations: Certified Residential Specialist; Certified Residential Broker; Certified Real Estate Appraiser; Accredited Buyer Representative; Relocation and Referral Certification; Certified International Property Specialist  - a study of cultures and real estate around the world. 

Memberships and Offices Held:  Past State President for Certified Residential Brokers, Certified Real Estate Specialists, Women’s Council of Realtors, and Kansas Chapter of International Specialists; Member of Topeka Board of Realtors, Committee Chair and Board of Directors member; National Association of Realtors; Real Estate Buyer Agent Chapter; Association for International Property Specialists; National Chapter for Certified Residential Specialists and Certified Residential Brokers; Kansas Chapter for Certified Residential Specialists and Certified Residential Brokers. 

Commissioner Thoms is also active in the community as a volunteer and a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity, an organization that helps build homes for the needy; and for  “Go Topeka” , an organization tasked with bringing business into Topeka. 

Commissioner Thoms has two children, Lori of Olathe, Kansas and Bryan of Dallas, Texas.  She and her husband Robert currently reside in Topeka where in her spare time she enjoys golf, painting, water and flower gardening, and playing the piano and organ.  She was a church organist for 18 years. 

Her greatest accomplishment:  Being a parent to two wonderful children!