Meet civil rights attorney, Elsie McCabe Thompson is a graduate of Barnard College and Harvard Law School, she resides in Manhattan with her husband, democrat William Thompson, former New York City Comptroller and current candidate in the mayoral race.
Elsie has had a long career as the President of the Museum for African Art, she is not just the wife of a political figure but has had a distinguished career in both government service and the private sector. She joined the museum back in 1997 but after 15 years of working to build a permanent home for the Museum for African Art in Manhattan, Elsie McCabe Thompson, announced last year that she was stepping down “to pursue other career opportunities.”
She said at the time
“We have poured our hearts and souls into the museum in order to create an institution of global acclaim. While this is a difficult decision, I leave knowing that much has been accomplished and the museum is in its final stages of development.”
Elsie is also mom to twin children from her previous marriage, her first husband passed away and she married Bill Thompson in 2008, becoming his third wife. The couple had to make some adjustments; he moved from a lifetime of living in Brooklyn to Harlem and she had to be left alone only a month later after their wedding since the former city comptroller, Mr. Thompson was the Democratic nominee for mayor in 2009 running unsuccessfully.
Elsie’s first husband died shortly after her twins were born. She and her late husband had been good friends with the twice-divorced Thompson, and she had remained so for years before they started dating.
Bill couldn’t have had a better partner during his run for major back in 2009 and now since prior to her outstanding job as president of Museum for African Art, Mrs. McCabe Thompson served as New York City Mayor David Dinkins’ chief-of-staff, overseeing the City’s nine Constituency Affairs offices; its city, state, and federal Legislative Affairs offices; the Human Rights Commission; the U.N. Commission; and the Community Development Agency, among other areas.
Previously, in the private sector, Mrs. McCabe Thompson was a senior litigator with Shearman & Sterling, where she specialized in commercial and banking litigation.
Mrs. McCabe Thompson has served on the boards of a number of nonprofit and for-profit corporations; She currently serves on the boards of the National Recreation Foundation, the Trinity School, and the Learning Care Group, Inc. Mrs. McCabe Thompson is a member of the Steering Committee of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), the Greater New York Hospital Association’s Diversity Committee, and the Association of Art Museum Directors.
An accomplished woman, a true inspiration particularly for black women-who could easily tout her own credentials on the campaign trail, Thompson instead sticks to championing her husband.
You can find our mote about her work here or follow the Museum of African Art on twitter here.
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