Ken Thompson’s work at the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, and his prior two decades in philanthropy, have focused on supporting teens and young adults to connect to education and opportunity. As a Senior Fellow he focuses on strategy, planning and management support for the Forum for Community Solutions team, including support for measurement, learning and evaluation activities. 

Ken is a also an independent philanthropic-sector consultant; he supports multi-sector collaboratives and individual funders to think strategically and design new approaches to funding programs. His recent employment experience includes an 18-year stint at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he focused on youth and education success in Washington State. He has master’s degrees from the University of Washington and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.