Liz Thompson

Liz Thompson is deeply engaged in the non-profit community. She began her formal roll working with non-profits in 1993 when she was named executive director of City Year Chicago, a national service organization that was the template for the AmeriCorps Program. In 1995, Thompson was named executive director of Family Star in Denver, Colorado, one of the only Early Head Start Montessori programs in the nation. During her tenure, she led a $5-million expansion of the organization. In 1998, she became active with local boards in the San Diego area where she gained further insight and experience in youth development and education and expanded her interest in philanthropy. Prior to her work with non-profits, Thompson had a ten-year career with Ameritech Corporation as one of very few women in their network operations organization. During her decade with the corporation, she led various technical departments and was eventually named special assistant to the CEO of Ameritech Illinois and director of a three state region for Field Operations. Thompson serves as a trustee for the University of Chicago and sits on the board of directors for the University of Chicago Charter School and the University of Chicago Women’s Board. She is a director for The Museum of Science and Industry and serves as co-chair of Purdue University’s Minority Engineering Program Advisory Panel. She is an alumnus of the Non-Profit Leadership Program of Denver and of the Leadership Greater Chicago Program where she also serves as one of it’s vice presidents. Thompson is married to Donald Thompson, president and chief executive officer of McDonald’s Corporation. They live with their two children just outside Chicago, Illinois.