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Special Guest Bios

Mr. Jefferson A. Thomas

Mr. Jefferson A. Thomas was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and attended the all-Black public schools, as did his seven older siblings.  Because of the US Supreme Court’s ban on Public School segregation (Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, May 17, 1954), Mr. Thomas volunteered to desegregate the all-White Central High School along with a group of eight other Black students, now known as the “Little Rock Nine.”

Jefferson was a 15-year-old sophomore when he bravely entered Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 1957.  He was a quiet, soft spoken, unique, and special person.  He had a subtle, infectious sense of humor that served him well throughout his life.  He would find that sense of humor and his LOVE for humanity severely tested by the hate and violence directed toward him by some of the white students at Central High School. 

Jefferson graduated from Central High School in May of 1960 and entered Wayne State University, Detroit, while his family relocated to Southern California.  In mid-1961, Jefferson joined his family in Los Angeles, California.  There he served as Treasurer of the NAACP Youth Council and State President of the Progressive Baptist Youth Convention.  He attended Los Angeles State College, joined the Student Government, and was elected President of the Associated Engineers.  There he obtained a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration

Mr. Thomas was inducted into the United States Army in 1966.  He received training at Fort Riley, Kansas before being assigned to duty in South Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division.  There he served as a squad leader (NCO) and directed numerous field campaigns as they confronted enemy troops.

Sgt. Thomas returned to civilian life in the summer of 1968.  With his father, he operated and managed the family owned Retail Sales Business.  Mr. Thomas went to work as a Supervisor for Mobil Oil Corporation.

Mr. Thomas is a founding member on the Board of Directors of the Little Rock Nine Foundation.  The LR9 Foundation provides mentors and awards scholarships to at risk High School graduates.

Later, Mobil Oil moved its Credit Card Operations to Kansas City.  Mr. Thomas decided to remain in Los Angeles and enter Federal Service with the Department of Defense.  The Department Of Defense relocated its Los Angeles operations to Columbus, OH, in 1989.  After moving to Columbus, OH, Mr. Thomas became a member of the Board of Directors for the City of Refuge Learning Academy and the First Church of God Day Care Center.  He also served as a volunteer mentor in the Village to Child Program co-sponsored by Ohio Dominican University, where he received an Honorary Degree, “Doctor of Humane Letters,” on May 13, 2001, for his life-long efforts in human rights and equality advancement. 

Mr. Thomas is a frequent speaker at numerous high schools, colleges, universities and Professional organizations throughout the country.  In addition to this active speaking schedule, Jefferson also taped a one-hour television show for “Teen Forum,” which is a locally produced television show sponsored by the Columbus Parks and Recreation Commission.  Jefferson also addressed forty students at the Individualized Program for the Attainment of Success in School (I-PASS) Center about how to control violence within oneself.  The I-PASS Center was known as a “discipline clearinghouse” for the Columbus Public School system.

Mr. Thomas is the recipient of numerous awards from local and federal agencies.  Some of the awards/recognition Mr. Thomas has received include:

Also, Mr. Thomas has been featured in JET Magazine, Newsweek, AmericanWay Magazine, and People Magazine.  He has been interviewed on CNN, “Good Morning America”, "The Tom Joyner Morning Show", "Talk Radio, New York", “Victoria Jones Show”, and Columbus, Ohio’s “Common Ground” hosted by Charlene Brown, plus featured on several national broadcast news networks. 

Angela An

Angela An co-anchors 10TV News HD's weekend morning newscasts with Live Doppler 10 meteorologist Carlos Gonzales.

Angela joined 10TV in August 2000.  Along with her anchoring duties, An is the lead reporter for 10TV's CrimeTracker 10 series.  In 2007, she was awarded Best Reporter in Ohio from the Society of Professional Journalists, as well as Best Coverage of Minority Issues in Ohio. 

An has won numerous other awards, including Best Spot News Coverage from the Associated Press, Award for Excellence from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Media Person of the Year from CrimeStoppers of Central Ohio, and most Supportive Civilian of the Year from the Ohio State University Army ROTC Program.  Angela has also received several Emmy nominations in the past several years.

An said that the most memorable story she has covered was the deadly tsunami in southeast Asia in 2004.  She and a photographer spent 10 days reporting on Sri Lanka's road to recovery and brought back a weeklong series of stories about survival, loss and determination to rebuild.

Prior to joining 10TV, An worked at KSL-TV in Salt Lake City as a reporter/fill-in anchor.  She was one of the first journalists in the market to certify as a county wild land firefighter.  Angela also co-founded a news magazine program, "China Near and Far," based out of New York City.  Her journalism career began behind the scenes at KCAL-TV in Los Angeles.

Angela is a strong supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Franklin County Dog Shelter and Capital Area Humane Society and the Columbus Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  She is a native of Holmdel, N.J., but has lived in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Taiwan.  Angela graduated from the University of Southern California with a dual major in Broadcast Journalism and East Asian Area Studies.