Spotlight On...

George Thompson

Executive Director

Executive Director George Thompson announced in June that he will retire in December 2005. For the last 10 years, George’s leadership has helped our organization and community grow towards achieving our mission. In more ways than one, the incoming Executive Director will have BIG shoes to fill. We interviewed George about his work over the past 10 years.

In 1995, George Thompson became the Executive Director of the Diversity Council, drawing on 27 years of management and people empowerment experience at IBM Rochester. At IBM, George won numerous awards for team-building and people empowerment. Comments from staff and volunteers reinforce that those skills were key parts of his success as Executive Director of the Diversity Council.

Mike Podulke, a member of the Board of Directors, describes George as a person with “contagious integrity.” Associate Director Kristin Mannix describes George as embodying the values of the organization, “George values, recognizes and celebrates what each of our staff and volunteers brings to the organization. He treats others with respect and appreciation, including people in decisions and listening to different perspectives—he lives our mission everyday.”

When asked about his personal philosophy, George replied, “I have tried to be a catalyst for positive change, because it’s all about working through people. Diversity only works if the community attitude is positive. We want a community that is inclusive and welcoming and it’s up to us to make that happen.”

As Executive Director, George initiated a revision of the Prejudice Reduction Workshop [PRW] program, making it accessible to more schools. As part of that project, the Diversity Council expanded its PRW curriculum, recruited and trained community facilitators, and worked with schools to develop strong partnership relationships. The program has grown from 300 students in 1995 to 16,431 students in 2004-2005, largely through his leadership.

George has personally brought diversity education to more than 10,000 people around the state in the last 5 years. He has led efforts to create educational videos, publish 15,000 RISE magazines, and bring nationally acclaimed speakers like Lee Mun Wah to Rochester.

When asked what he is most proud of during his 10 years as Executive Director, George told the story of a young Somali boy who was badly beaten in the early 90s.

In response to this tragedy, George became a community catalyst for organizing “Not In Our Town” and “You Are The One To Make The Peace,” a campaign that reached over 50,000 people. George galvanized the community to respond financially as well, helping to pay for the boy’s medical expenses and reconstructive dental work.

The real payback for his efforts came 5 years later. While George was walking on the campus at University Center Rochester, “This same boy approached me saying thanks and that he really appreciated my help. I was amazed. He told me that he thought that our community is so much better because of the work that we do. That felt pretty good.”

George believes in collaboration, which is why he has been an active member of many community groups outside of the Diversity Council. George says, “There are a lot of people in our community that are struggling with issues, and we help them by changing attitudes and they don’t even know. Then again, since I have announced my retirement, people I don’t remember helping have come up to me on the street and said thanks for making this a better community.”

He has been deeply involved in the community working with the following organizations: United Way, Jobs in Transition, YMCA Big Brothers, Rochester Human Rights Commission, Citizens Youth Violence Intervention Council (CYVIC), Family Action Collaboration Educational Services (FACES), Greater Rochester Area University Center (GRAUC), Mayor’s Community Response team, Not In Our Town Steering team, 21st Century Partnership steering, diversity and process teams, Workforces issues taskforce, Youth Commission, and the NAACP.

For his active community participation, George has received numerous awards. He has received the Mayor’s Medal of Honor, the NAACP award for community service in 1999 and 2001, and the Indo-American award for Public Service.

As George moves toward retirement in December, he promises to remain active in the community and the Diversity Council, “I know there’s lots of opportunities to contribute, but I’d like to take some time to think about how I want to help. I will look at issues on a state-wide scale, some local things, and helping the Diversity Council stay connected.”

George has already embarked on one new project through his role as a Trustee of the Blandin Foundation. George led an effort to bring the Blandin Foundation and Minneapolis Foundation to the Red Lake reservation to address the needs of that community.

George will continue to help the Diversity Council but “from the sidelines.” He believes that the organization is in great shape for a new leader to step in, “The Diversity Council is staffed with wonderful people and a great board. The work is hard and you have to be persistent, and flexible, and ready to compromise. But the key is finding really good people, and there are some really good people working here. That’s the pleasure of working here--I’ll miss it.”

Read the Post-Bulletin story about George’s retirement

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