Rae Lewis-Thornton

Rev. Rae Lewis-Thornton is an Emmy Award winning AIDS Activist. She rose to national acclaim when she told her story of living with HIV/AIDS in a cover story to Essence Magazine. In the past twenty years, she has traveled worldwide in an unending crusade in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Rae Lewis-Thornton has been featured in countless magazines such as, Glamour, O-The Oprah Magazine, Jet, Ebony, Woman’s Day, Emerge, Black Excellence, Heart and Soul WOE, Poz and The Crisis, as well as, many newspaper outlets. She has been featured on national television shows such as Nightline, Dateline, Black Entertainment Television (BET) The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Montel Williams Show. She received an Emmy Award for an on-going series of first-person news reports on her life of Living With AIDS, for CBS-Chicago. RaeLT has become a pioneer in using Social Media to educate and challenge stigma around HIV/AIDS and to promote issues around self-love. Her integrated use of Social Media has gained her national acclaim. She was featured on BET News, and in a cover story for the Chicago Tribune, that was picked up by the Associated Press .

RaeLT launched a line of fashion bracelets, RLT Collection in 2009. Her handcrafted original designs can be seen on the wrist of celebrities, such as Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kim Coles, Dionne Warwick, Jennifer Holliday, Santiita Jackson new personality for Fox News and even her Pastor, L. Bernard Jakes. Her exclusive web-store is http://www.rltcollection.com In 2013, renowned Jewelry designer Shell Ryes began carrying RLT Collection designed specifically for Shell Ryes Antique, Jewelry and Interior Design Shop on Chicago’s Gold Coast.

Her award winning blog Diva Living With AIDS has had unprecedented success. (http://www.raelewisthornton.com She won the CBS Most Valuable Blogger Award in Health and Wellness in 2010 and the Black WEBlog Award in Health and Wellness in 2012. Her blog receives approximately 30,000 views monthly. She has added to her brands, Tea With Rae, weekly Tea Reviews with over 20 Companies around the world participating. She launched a Twitter Book Club RLT Reads in 2010 with over 100 participates. Rae can be found educating on Twitter daily @RaeLT and in 2010 she won the British Academy of Golden Tweet Award in Public Service.

RaeLT published her most recent book, The Politics of Respectability in May 2012. She received the Distinguished Alumnae Award from her alma mater Northeaster