Tom Keefe

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Tom Keefe speaking at Lakewood City Council (2019)

Tom Keefe
Personal details
Born	Thomas Edward Keefe (1973-05-08) May 8, 1973 Wakefield, RI
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Branford, Connecticut
Alma mater	Saint Joseph's University. Miami University, Norwich University, Grand Canyon University, Cornell University
Occupation	Politician, Author, Professor

Thomas E. Keefe (born May 8, 1973) is a politician and academic from Branford, Connecticut. He is currently one of the elected District 3 Representative to the Branford Democratic Town Meeting.

In 2023, he was nominated by the Branford Democratic Town Committee to be a candidate for the Branford Representative Town Meeting for District 3 which represents Short Beach and the surrounding area. One November 7, 2023, Keefe received the most votes in the race for District 3 Representative, earning 33% of the vote in a four-way race. He was swore-in on November 21, 2023, and elected Chair of the RTM Education Committee. As the Chair of the Education Committee, he is also an ex officio member of the James Blackstone Library Board of Trustees.

Keefe is a prolific writer, researcher, political consultant, and paid speaker. He currently teachers at Amistad High School in New Haven, Connecticut.

Early life and education

Keefe was born at South County Hospital on May 8, 1973, and was the first child to be administered a fetal heart monitor in the history of South County Hospital during the delivery process. Raised in Peace Dale, Keefe attended Msgr. Clarke Regional Catholic School and Bishop Hendricken High School. At Hendricken, Keefe participated in the Academic Decathlon and several other activities. In 1990, Tom Keefe awarded the City of Warwick's Rotary Club's scholarship to attend the 14th Annual World Affairs Seminar in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

Keefe holds a BA in History from St. Joseph’s University, an MA in Diplomacy from Norwich University, an MAT in Social Studies Education from Miami University, and an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from Grand Canyon University. He also has a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

Family

Keefe is the son of Thomas J. Keefe and Margaret J. Keefe. The elder Tom Keefe studied ELF research during the Cold War for the United States Air Force. He is also Professor Emeritis from the Community College of Rhode Island and former member of the "2 + 2 Tech Prep Associate Degree" Advisory Board. Margaret "Mimi" Keefe was a former Professor of Library Sciences at the University of Rhode Island and past Chair of Public Service. The younger Tom Keefe has two children.

Career

Tom Keefe is an educator who has taught in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Colorado. Keefe has taught in parochial schools, Catholic secondary schools, public schools, and an Orthodox Jewish middle school. Keefe taught 7-12 social studies, religion, and English for 17 years. In 2013, Keefe led an immersion trip for students to the Oglala Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Shortly thereafter, Keefe moved to Colorado. In 2016, Keefe became an adjunct instructor at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. He was hired full-time in 2017. Keefe's research focuses on pedagogy and leadership, genocide education, identity construction, history, land acknowledgments, politics, and international relations.

In 2017, Keefe was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Humanities at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Lakewood, Colorado, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. In 2022, Dr. Keefe received the inaugural Philip J. Steele Distinguished Faculty Award of the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. In 2022, he hosted a lecture at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design on the history of the Spivak Family, particularly H. David Spivak. The event was covered by Steve Mark from Intermountain Jewish News and Bob Wooley from Colorado Media. Keefe was also profiled in the magazine Canvas Rebel.

He currently teaches at Amistad High School in New Haven, Connecticut.

Research

History

• In 2022, Keefe hosted the descendants of Dr. Charles D. Spivak and H. David Spivak at the he Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and presented a lecture on the Spivak Family and H. David Spivak in particular. Earlier in 2022, Keefe was a guest blogger for Denver Public Libraries and wrote a biographical sketch on May Arno, the sister of Jennie Charsky Spivak: "May Arno: Musician, Author, Teacher, Actress". [1]. February 28, 2022.
• In 2022, Keefe was a consultant for "A Blast the Past Past: RMCAD’s Campus History"
• In 2020 and 2021, Keefe served on the African American Ambassador's Group of the City of Providence and was an editor for the "A Matter of Truth" Report.

Education

• From 2020-2022, Tom Keefe served with Dr. Becky Black as a consultant with Jefferson County Public Schools on implementation of Colorado HB-1336. Keefe also led the revision for the introductory humanities course at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and that work was published with Dr. Chris Berg in the journal World History Connects.

Land Acknowledgments

• His work on land acknowledgments was cited in California Assembly Bill Policy Committee Analysis AB-1968 Tribal Land Acknowledgment Act of 2021.
• He has also been a consultant for land acknowledgment policy for Jefferson County (Colorado) Open Space.

Politics and International Relations

• In 2022, Keefe was consultant for an article by Donald C. Stanton, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Transportation Policy) on the Russo-Ukrainian War of 1922.
• In 2019, Keefe presented "Denial of Genocide: The Native American Experience" at the Conference of the Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies, April 13-14, 2019. Charlotte, NC.
• In 2018, Keefe was a panelist on Religion and Public Space at the American Academy for Religion Annual Conference. Denver, CO.

Political Career

In Rhode Island

In 1990, Tom Keefe served as a volunteer in (then) Rhode Island State Senator Jack Reed's campaign for Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district. Four years later, Keefe applied for and was awarded the Lyndon Baines Johnson Internship Award. The award, now defunct, had been created to recognize President Lyndon Johnson's service in Texas's 10th congressional district. The award included a stipend that allowed Keefe to pay for housing while he completed his internship in Jack Reed's office.

In 2003, Keefe ran in the special election to fill a vacancy on the Warwick, Rhode Island School Committee, ultimately losing to Bob Cushman. In 2012, Warwick's Mayor Scott Avedisian, a Republican, appointed Tom the City of Warwick Diversity Commission, chaired by Camille Vella-Wilkinson. In 2020, Keefe was appointed to the City of Providence, Rhode Island, African American Ambassadors Group and their Truth and Reconciliation Subgroup. As a member of AAAG, Keefe was one of the editors of the City of Providence's A Matter of Truth Report (p. iii).

In Colorado

(2014-2020)

After moving to Colorado in 2014, Tom was appointed to the Jefferson County, Colorado, Historical Commission by Jefferson County Commissioner Casey Tighe. Tighe's 2016 campaign re-election video featured Tom and Commissioner Tighe walking through Kendrick Lake Park discussing community issues. In 2017, Tom was elected by Democrats in Colorado House District 23 to the position of Captain and, in 2019, Tom was elected as Vice Chair of the HD23 Democrats. In 2020, Keefe was appointed to the Colorado 1st Judicial District Judicial Retention Commission by K.C. Becker, the Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. The First Judicial District represents Gilpin County, Colorado, and Jefferson County, Colorado. In 2021, Keefe was elected Chair of the House District 23 Democrats and, after the 2020 Census Redistricting Process, Keefe became the incumbent Chair of House District 30.

Keefe filed a complaint with the City of Lakewood that the Lakewood Watchdog was in violation of city ordinances. While the complaint was upheld at the city level, the so-called Watchdog successfully filed a countersuit in federal District Court for Colorado .

(2021-2022)

Keefe was a candidate for the nonpartisan race to represent Ward 5 in the Lakewood, Colorado, City Council. Keefe was endorsed by Representatives Monica Pema Duran, Lisa Cutter, and Shannon Bird, as well as Jefferson County Commissioners Tracy Kraft Tharp, Lesley Dahlkemper, and Andy Kerr, Jefferson County Treasurer and Public Trustee, Jerry DiTullio, and Jefferson County Coroner, Annette Cannon. Keefe was also endorsed by Lakewood City Council member Jacob LaBure and Westminster Council member Dr. Kathryn Skulley. According to Bob Wooley of the Jeffco Transcript, Keefe has significant policy experience and a firm grasp on the issues facing the City of Lakewood.

With 13,990 ballots cast, the race was decided by 11 votes and is the closest election in Lakewood history as well as Jefferson County, Colorado.

In Connecticut

(2022-2023)

In 2023, he was nominated by the Branford Democratic Town Committee to be a candidate for the Branford Representative Town Meeting for District 3 which represents Short Beach and the surrounding area.

Bibliography

Books (author)

• My Journey: A Life According to God. Lakewood, CO: Kincora Press, 2016.
• This Day in Donald: The 140 Character President of the United States. Lakewood: Kincora Press. 2016. Search this book on
• This Day in RMCAD and the Historic JCRS | AMC Campus: A Diary of Care, Research, and Creativity. Lakewood, CO: Sanatorium Press, 2020.

Peer-Reviewed Chapters (author)

• Author. “Race, Identity, and Choice: Black Voices on Liberia and the American Colonization Society” in The African American Experience: From Slavery to Liberation (2nd Edition). Eastern Kentucky University Press, 2022.
• Co-author. "Outside the Classroom & Outside the Books: Extending the Classroom for “Antiessentialist." In Sharma, M. Alexander, A. (Eds.), Companion to Decolonizing Art, Craft & Visual Culture Education, 2022. Routledge: New York, NY.

Peer-Reviewed Articles (author)

• Co-Author, “I want to touch the world”: Responsive Curricular Reform in Post-Secondary Humanities. World History Connects, 19(2).
• Mission, Faith, and Values - A Study of 94 Voices from Rhode Island Catholic Secondary School Graduates." Journal of Catholic Education, 24(2), pp.135-157.
• "Using art to trigger memory, intergenerational learning, and community". International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education. 3 (3): 19–30. August 17, 2020.
• "Total recall: complete and remembered lives". Reviews in History (2421). October 16, 2020.
• "Fake News". The Liminal: Interdisciplinary Journal of Technology in Education. 1 (1). September 3, 2019."

Genocide Education

• Keefe, T. (2019). Dancing with the Devil: US Presidents and the Issue of Genocide Acknowledgment. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337801528_Dancing_with_the_Devil_US_Presidents_and_the_Issue_of_Genocide_Acknowledgment
• Keefe, T. (2019). Native American Genocide: Realities and Denials. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332383826_Native_American_Genocide_Realities_and_Denials
• Keefe, T. (2019). "Denial of Genocide: The Native American Experience" at the Conference of the Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies, April 13-14, 2019. Charlotte, NC.
• Keefe, T. (2018). Remembering the Unforgettablehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/332403645_Remembering_the_Unforgettable
• Keefe, T. (2018). The Naming of Genocide. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328150423_The_Naming_of_Genocide
• Keefe, T. (2017). Second Fiddle Belligerents and the Absence of Justice. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329640996_Second_Fiddle_Belligerents_and_the_Absence_of_Justice_with_pictures
• Keefe, T. (2016). This Day in Genocide. https://www.amazon.com/This-Day-Genocide-Thomas-Keefe/dp/153954916X

Op-Eds (author)

• "Mindless hysteria over Trump's court pick". The Providence Journal. July 26, 2018.
• "It is time to hold Big Insurance accountable." Colorado Newsline. August 2, 2021.
• "Murphy was right. Alito was ‘stunningly wrong.’" CT Mirror. August 15, 2023.

Letters to the Editor

• The World Ignores Genocide. The Providence Journal. February 19, 2005. https://providencejournal.newsbank.com/doc/news/1524290986B9D8F8
• The Fortas Filibuster. The Providence Journal. May 16, 2005. https://providencejournal.newsbank.com/doc/news/152429A894FCA670
• The NCAA and Mascots. The Cranston Herald. August, 11, 2005. https://cranstononline.com/stories/letter-by-tom-keefe,10673?print=1
• 9/11 Not Comparable to Pearl Harbor. The Providence Journal. April 19, 2006. https://providencejournal.newsbank.com/doc/news/15242820C6DC5518
• U.S. tried to stop Rwandan genocide. The Providence Journal. December 9, 2006. https://providencejournal.newsbank.com/doc/news/152427CD29D8A198
• Our greatness: Ordinary made extraordinary. The Warwick Beacon. September 13, 2011. https://warwickonline.com/stories/our-greatness-ordinary-made-extraordinary,62501?

See also

• List of people from Rhode Island

References

This article "Tom Keefe" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Tom Keefe. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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