Elsie McCabe Thompson
Elsie McCabe Thompson joined the Museum for African Art as its president in 1997, following a distinguished career in both government service and the private sector. Since joining the Museum, Mrs. McCabe Thompson has overseen the expansion and reinvigoration of its Board of Trustees, increased earned income by roughly 200 percent, and-most significantly-initiated and led the most important development in the institution's history to date: the planning for and construction of a new building, to be located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 110th Street.
Prior to joining the 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. During her tenure there, she founded and ran a training and mentoring program for minority students, providing educational programs for more than 10,000 young people.
Mrs. McCabe Thompson has served on the boards of a number of nonprofit and for-profit corporations, including the National Executive Service Corps; Union Theological Seminary; New York Cares; Harlem Day Charter School; International House; and North General Hospital. 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.
Elsie McCabe Thompson is a graduate of Barnard College and Harvard Law School, she resides in Manhattan with her husband, William Thompson, former New York City Comptroller, and her two children.
