Full Name
J. Phillip Thompson
Company
New York City Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives
Speaker Bio
J. Philip Thompson was appointed Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives in February 2018. His agency portfolio includes the Department of Youth and Community Development, the Department of Small Business Services, the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Veterans’ Services, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, the NYC Public Engagement Unit, and the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development.
His specific responsibilities include oversight for the City’s Pre-K for All program, its 3-K for All program, the Community Schools and Young Men’s Initiatives, and ThriveNYC, the nation’s most comprehensive approach to mental health. Additionally, Deputy Mayor Thompson has been charged with expanding the city’s investment in minority- and women-owned businesses; leading the Mayor’s initiative for greater voter participation; and overseeing DemocracyNYC, a project to improve the city’s elections process.
Thompson’s experience in New York City government goes back to the administration of Mayor David Dinkins, where he served as Deputy General Manager for Operations and Development. In 2003 and 2010, he served on the NYC Charter Revision Commission. Globally, he has worked with the Colombian Ministry of Environment to create sustainable environmental and community development programs and with the Haitian government on post-earthquake housing planning and design.
Prior to joining the de Blasio administration, Thompson was an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, teaching courses in housing and economic development; urban politics; post-disaster planning; social movements; and race and ethnicity in American Politics. He has written extensively on community health planning, the future of labor unions, race and community development, social capital in public housing, and the politics of black economic advancement. He is the author of Double Trouble: Black Mayors, Black Communities and the Struggle for Deep Democracy, published in 2006 by Oxford University Press.
Thompson received a B.A. in Sociology from Harvard University, a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College, and a Ph. D from the City University of New York Graduate Center.
His specific responsibilities include oversight for the City’s Pre-K for All program, its 3-K for All program, the Community Schools and Young Men’s Initiatives, and ThriveNYC, the nation’s most comprehensive approach to mental health. Additionally, Deputy Mayor Thompson has been charged with expanding the city’s investment in minority- and women-owned businesses; leading the Mayor’s initiative for greater voter participation; and overseeing DemocracyNYC, a project to improve the city’s elections process.
Thompson’s experience in New York City government goes back to the administration of Mayor David Dinkins, where he served as Deputy General Manager for Operations and Development. In 2003 and 2010, he served on the NYC Charter Revision Commission. Globally, he has worked with the Colombian Ministry of Environment to create sustainable environmental and community development programs and with the Haitian government on post-earthquake housing planning and design.
Prior to joining the de Blasio administration, Thompson was an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, teaching courses in housing and economic development; urban politics; post-disaster planning; social movements; and race and ethnicity in American Politics. He has written extensively on community health planning, the future of labor unions, race and community development, social capital in public housing, and the politics of black economic advancement. He is the author of Double Trouble: Black Mayors, Black Communities and the Struggle for Deep Democracy, published in 2006 by Oxford University Press.
Thompson received a B.A. in Sociology from Harvard University, a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College, and a Ph. D from the City University of New York Graduate Center.
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