Heather Thompson

Chief Executive Officer, ITDP

Heather Thompson has been with ITDP for more than a dozen years, first serving on its Board of Directors for eight years, and then as CEO since 2018. Ms. Thompson believes that bold progress needs to be made toward more walkable, cycle-friendly, and transit-accessible cities. ITDP’s work in making cities more equitable, livable and environmentally conscious changes everything for the better – for people and the planet.

Ms. Thompson has nearly two decades of experience in the environmental non-profit sector, designing and carrying out strategies with large-scale impact. She co-founded and served as VP of Programs at ClimateWorks Foundation, and was a Principal at California Environmental Associates where she led the firm’s work in philanthropic strategy. She has helped clients design and implement strategies that help our cities and natural systems increase resilience in the face of climate change, population growth and other development pressures. She has lived and worked abroad in China, the U.K., and Denmark, and holds a Master of Science in environmental economics from the University of York, U.K. and a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from the University of California, San Diego.