ET, The Hip-Hop PreacherEric Thomas is a critically acclaimed author, world-renowned speaker, educator, pastor, and Audie Awards finalist. Eric will share his passion for quality education and personal empowerment, two of the most powerful tools educators can employ when helping students achieve their wildest dreams.
Eric recently wrote in a CUE Blog, "Based on my prior experiences, I shouldn’t be here. If my life continued on the path I had chosen for myself, you wouldn’t even know my name. Fortunately, compassionate educators embraced me, empowered me, and gave me the tools I need to live my best life. CUE educators, we are those compassionate teachers, counselors, principals, administrators, and leaders, and I am proud to stand beside you as we save and empower a generation."
Join us to hear Eric's electrifying message drawing from his own personal experiences. To read Eric's CUE blog, visit
blog.cue.org/meet-eric-thomas-our-cue19-keynote-speaker.
ERIC THOMAS BIO“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you‘ll be successful.” Eric Thomas, Ph.D. is a critically acclaimed author, world-renowned speaker, educator, pastor, and
audible.com Audie Awards Finalist. ET, as he is better known, has taken the world by storm, with his creative style and high-energy messages. His words continue to impact tens of millions of people in several hundred countries across the planet!
Eric’s commitment to community activism has been long-standing. It began with his award-nominated GED Program that led to his non-profit, Break The Cycle, I Dare you, and a plethora of ministerial and educational endeavors. The culmination of those efforts resulted in the development of the Advantage program at Michigan State University. This program targets high-risk college students by improving their study habits and increasing their retention rates. Michigan State University is where he continued to pursue his passion to remedy the effects of adverse societal influences plaguing both the young and old. It is from this platform that he created International Urban Education Consultants; a non-profit organization committed to finding solutions to close the achievement gap in urban schools through goal framing and helping students to reform their perception of learning.
Drawing from his own personal experiences as they relate to homelessness, the absence of his biological father, scholastic struggles, and various other obstacles, ET allows his life to be an “open book” from which radiates dynamic and inspiring messages that relate to many people across all strata.
While the typical undergraduate student takes between four to six years to complete their studies, ET took 12. For most, that would have signaled the end of any future academic aspirations. For ET, it was a springboard from which his academic success would be launched! In 2005, ET completed and received a Master’s Degree from Michigan State University and on February 5th of 2015, Eric successfully defended his dissertation and received his Ph.D. in Education Administration on May 8th, 2015, from Michigan State University.