Saskia Levy Thompson is a program director within the Corporation’s Education program, where she manages the New Designs to Advance Learning portfolio. Thompson oversees grantmaking aimed at advancing school and system models that enable students to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed for future success.
Thompson brings a wealth of experience as a practitioner and system-level leader to her role at the Corporation. Most recently, Thompson served as deputy director of the Research Alliance for New York City Schools, and also sat on the senior leadership team at the NYC Department of Education (DOE), where she served as deputy chancellor for Portfolio Planning, CEO of School Support, and special advisor to the chancellor. Prior to her tenure at the DOE, she was a senior associate at social policy research organization MDRC, where she worked with school districts around the country to develop interventions and evaluations aimed at improving outcomes for disadvantaged youth. Before joining MDRC, she was the executive director of the Urban Assembly, a nonprofit network of high schools serving high-poverty communities.
Thompson holds a BA in political science from New York University, and worked in Buenos Aires, Argentina, prior to beginning her career in education. She sits on the boards of several youth services organizations, including the Harold Hunter Foundation, East Harlem Scholars Academies, the East Harlem Tutorial Project, and the Teagle Foundation, as well as volunteers in her community.
