Mariana Thomas was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. She is a graduate of Hope College and Princeton Theological Seminary. As a scholar and avid traveler, Mariana was the 2019-2020 recipient of Princeton Seminary’s Graduate Fellowship for Parish Pulpit Ministry, which allowed her to study abroad in South Africa and Brazil. Mariana is currently the program manager of the Black Organizing Program at Planned Parenthood Illinois Action where she advocates for access to safe and affordable reproductive healthcare for Black communities throughout Illinois. Currently, she is the minister on Zoom as well as a ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church. She looks forward to completing her ordination process with the PCUSA within the next 2 years. In her free time, Mariana enjoys spending time with her wife, Alex Cooper, and playing with her beloved cat, Bijou.