Cat Thomas is an educator and emerging scholar whose work focuses on physical literacy, early childhood education, and equity in movement-based learning. Her research examines how educator beliefs, institutional structures, and sociocultural contexts shape young children’s access to meaningful physical activity experiences, with a particular focus on Black children in underserved communities. She is especially interested in how physical literacy development can be supported through culturally informed pedagogy and system-level change in early childhood settings. 

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​Her work contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship in early childhood education and child health by framing physical literacy as an equity-driven construct shaped by both instructional practice and broader educational systems. She is actively engaged in teaching, professional learning, and scholarly collaboration and is available for invited lectures, conference presentations, and higher education engagements.