Her Story
About Jacqueline
Jacque Thomas is a medical device professional and Regional Senior Quality Specialist at Cochlear Americas, where she has built a career centered on quality, regulatory affairs, and continuous improvement. Based in Parker, Colorado, she brings a unique perspective to the industry, combining nearly five years of experience at Cochlear with a diverse healthcare background that spans patient access, surgery coordination, and clinical operations. In her current role, she presents quality and regulatory training to new regional employees, leads cross-functional initiatives, and has been recognized with opportunities to contribute to global project work.
Thomas's career journey reflects her belief that all skills are transferable. After earning a culinary arts degree, she transitioned into healthcare following the birth of her son, beginning in emergency room patient access where she became the primary support professional at the ambulance bay. Following her move to Denver in 2018, she worked alongside physical therapists and team physicians at Steadman Hawkins Clinic before joining Cochlear Americas. Throughout her career, she has developed expertise in quality systems, regulatory compliance, root cause analysis, complaint management, and process improvement, earning a reputation for persistence, resilience, and a solution-oriented approach.
Describing herself as an investigator, Thomas attributes her success to her ability to uncover the root causes of complex issues and implement meaningful, lasting improvements. As a Black woman in corporate America and the medical device industry, she is passionate about advocating for herself and encouraging others to do the same. She advises young women entering the field to stand up for themselves, establish clear boundaries, and respectfully advocate for their careers while building community with others. Guided by integrity, resilience, and a commitment to lifelong learning, Thomas continues to embrace new challenges while helping advance quality and excellence in healthcare.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jacqueline
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think that it is the investigator in me, right? When I find that there is an issue, I want to get to the root cause and help to make whatever that issue is just a little bit more maybe efficient, maybe just, you know, whatever I can do to just make it a little bit better. And so I think that that persistence, that resilience has really forced me to grow and learn and stretch myself, right? Because there's some things that I don't know and I'm gonna have to stretch and grow to kind of get myself there.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think I have a point of view that is very specific. Not only am I a woman in medical device, but I'm also a Black woman in corporate America. And I do think that plays a card in how I interact at work, in how I show up for myself, and so I think that's what I would say to a young person that wanted to get into the same line of work, is to stand up for yourself, right? Be your own advocate. And as long you are respectful. You can stand up for yourself, you can even push back a little bit when you need to, but you have to be your advocate for your career, and you can't let anything stand in your way.
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