Member Since 2022
Jennifer Thompson
i-tri
New Jersey
Jennifer Thompson is the Chief Executive Officer of i-tri. She's a social worker, organizer and passionate advocate for girls. She graduated from Kansas State University with a B.S. in Social Work and obtained her MSW from Columbia University in 2005. Ms. Thompson has worked in the nonprofit and public sector for more than a decade, serving in programmatic, advocacy and management roles. She began her career at the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission and served as a Sr. Adviser to Mayor Michael Bloomberg on a number of citywide initiatives including homeless services, affordable housing, transportation and infrastructure. In the nonprofit sector, she developed programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for young breast cancer survivors at Sharsheret, and served as the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Girl Scouts, where she led advocacy initiatives that included a collaboration with the office of the First Lady, Michelle Obama, and her initiative, Let Girls Learn. Prior to stepping into the role at i-tri, Ms. Thompson served as the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers in New Jersey and Delaware. Ms. Thompson resides in New Jersey with her husband, son and large bernedoodle Penelope. They are active in sports and their community, serving on committees engaged in social justice and race equity.
RECENT CONTENT
May 19th, 2023
Why Girls' Empowerment Programs Are More Relevant and More Needed Than Ever
Programs that focus on empowering young women are essential to reversing the adverse impacts of social media and ameliorating pervasive pay and equity issues that women face today.
April 24th, 2023
15 Effective Ways to Encourage And Foster Innovation in Your Business
While failure does come with significant downsides, actively encouraging employees to take risks can be worthwhile.
January 11th, 2023
How to Keep Purpose at the Forefront of Your Business
In order to keep moving toward set goals, leaders must ensure that the organization's purpose is prioritized.
November 22nd, 2022
12 Effective Ways to Approach Managing Multiple Priorities
Even the most experienced of leaders can struggle when it comes to managing several different priorities.
November 15th, 2022
How Entrepreneurs Can Keep Up With Industry Trends
No matter what industry an entrepreneur operates in, developing ways of keeping up with emerging trends will help ensure they remain in business for the long term.
November 14th, 2022
Social Workers: The Surprise Heroes of Innovation
Sometimes innovation comes from unexpected places. Jennifer Thompson, executive director of the New Jersey and Delaware chapters of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and a member of the Newsweek Expert Forum, explains why c-suite leaders are increasingly incorporating social workers into their decision-making process.
November 7th, 2022
Rethinking Standardized Testing: Calling for Equity to Close the Achievement Gap
Throughout the pandemic, standardized testing was placed on hold as schools struggled to save their students from falling years behind in their education.
November 4th, 2022
How Leaders Can Respond to Growing Employee Activism in the Workplace
Before addressing any activism in the workplace, leaders need to have a well-developed approach.
November 2nd, 2022
12 Strategies for Keeping Your Team Curious and Innovative
Creating a culture that actively encourages employees to generate and share ideas is a great way to keep your company competitive in the market.
September 29th, 2022
Feeling Burnt Out? 12 Ways Managers Can Get Back on Track
As burnout continues to negatively impact employees on all levels, it's essential to build in processes to mitigate it.
September 19th, 2022
13 Essential Skills Every Manager Needs to Effectively Lead
September 12th, 2022
Got a Business Idea? 15 Tips for Gaining Stakeholder Buy-In
For a business to succeed, entrepreneurs have to know how to effectively pitch and get stakeholder onboard with every new initiative.
August 24th, 2022
The Everywhere Superheroes: Social Workers' Outsized Impact on Tech, Business, Social Justice and Beyond
In 2022, social workers are everywhere you'd expect them to be — and plenty of places you might not. Newsweek Expert Forum member Jennifer Thompson explains the key role social workers play in large-scale innovation.
COMPANY INFO
i-tri
i-tri focuses on working with middle-school girls because research shows that the largest drop in self-esteem occurs during early adolescence. 69% of elementary school-aged girls reported being “happy the way I am.” That figure plummets to 29% for high school girls. i-tri girls learn to believe in themselves, and that can change everything. Along the journey to the finish line of a youth distance triathlon, our girls discover that they are capable, strong and brave. They make connections that show them that while they are unique, they’re definitely not alone. Side by side, with new friends, i-tri girls learn to go inward to find their own strengths and to help others find theirs. i-tri girls are not triathletes. Rather, we use the sport of triathlon to give them a goal that is seemingly impossible, that is overwhelming and scary. And then we give them the physical and mental tools to achieve that goal. 2020 challenged us to pivot to a virtual program and demonstrated how important our Empowerment and Fitness sessions are as mental health and social emotional learning tools for our girls.
INDUSTRY
Health