Heather Thompson

Chief Executive Officer

Heather Thompson has been involved with ITDP for more than a dozen years and has served on ITDP’s Board of Directors for the last eight years, with the last two years as Chair.

Ms. Thompson works with the environmental non-profit sector to design and carry out strategies with large-scale impact. She is currently advising clients, including the Asian Development Bank, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Environ- mental Defense Fund, on finding ways to help our cities and natural systems increase resilience in the face of climate change, population growth, and other development pressures. Ms. Thompson also serves on the Board of the Gehl Institute and as the Board Chair for the Global Buildings Performance Network.

Previously, Ms. Thompson was co-founder and Vice President of Programs for ClimateWorks, a network of 13 regional foundations and expert teams which promote sectoral polices to mitigate cli- mate change. Prior to ClimateWorks, she was a Principal at Cali- fornia Environmental Associates, where she led the firm’s work in philanthropic strategy, covering energy and climate change, marine resource management, biodiversity protection, and land conservation. Ms. Thompson wrote strategies for leading founda- tions and nonprofit organizations including the Walton Family Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Oak Foundation, and WWF International.

Ms. Thompson has lived and worked abroad in China, the U.K., and Denmark. She holds a MSc in environmental economics from the University of York, U.K. and a B.S. in biological sciences from the University of California, San Diego.