S. LEIGH THOMPSON

strategist    |    facilitator    |   thought partner  |    joyful trouble-maker

A lifetime of building creative pathways, radical tools, & strategies for liberation.

(And causing beautiful trouble in the process.)

Ready to shake things up? -->
A headshot of Leigh, a light-skinned person with short hair, a beard and facial piercings,in big magenta and black glasses and silver hoop earrings, laughing

I don’t do small talk.

I only do BIG talk.

I've worked with organizers, activists, artists, educators, and leaders from around the world to build liberation practices, cohesive cultures, sustainable organizations, political movements, and social justice art that makes a real difference in the world.

My work builds critical analysis and creative thinking — two of the most crucial tools we have for taking apart the problems of the world and building something beautiful, something real, the thing we've actually been trying to create all along.

--> I'd love to tell you more

Hiya! I’m Leigh.

I’ve spent over 25 years shaking things up and causing all kinds of trouble in the best possible ways.

I’M NOT FOR EVERYONE

(but you and I are gonna get along great).

Especially if:

  • You give a damn. Not just about the what — about the how.

  • You have real power — and you want to use it the right way.

  • You know the difference between doing good work and doing it right.

  • You've checked the boxes. Then you realized that boxes don’t work.

  • You’re in level-up mode and need a thought partner who gets it, says it, and holds it all.

  • You know imagination, creativity, and art are powerful strategies that create real change.

  • You're ready to actually move — and you need someone who can move with you.

  • You're fed up with all the fluff and ready to get messy — like, actually messy — to dig around in the complex, beautiful chaos of it, flip over the rocks, find the monsters hiding underneath, discover what's been buried and why, and then instead of patching the thing that's broken, actually build the thing we’ve been trying to build this whole time.

THESE FOLK GET IT.

  • "You will leave the room vastly more prepared to be a problem-posing troublemaker in a world that needs more people shaking things up.”

    Bobby Gordon, UCLA Art & Global Health Center

  • "This work is hard. There are no clear answers. As a coach, Leigh helped me with the strategies I needed to give myself space and grace."

    Michele M.

  • "Leigh is thoughtful, methodical, and extremely knowledgeable."

    Sarah Hodgdon, The Management Center


  • “Leigh's approach encouraged us to push boundaries, explore new ideas and co-design thoughtfully together.”

    Gloria Walton, The Solutions Project

  • "A gifted facilitator, trainer and problem solver, Leigh set us on the right path to help us advance our mission."

    Oliver Bernstein, Steady Hand PR


  • “The changes I have been able to make in my organization would not have been possible without Leigh's initial support.”

    Dr Charles Beale, New York City Gay Men's Chorus 

  • “Leigh's knowledge and care showed through as he helped us craft a workshop that was powerful and relevant."

    Joanna Gurin, BewilderArts

  • "Leigh has helped guide us toward an expansion of our constituency while demanding that the organization remain responsive and flexible."

    Mark Weinberg, PTO

  • "Leigh has moved the needle on our conversations farther than I thought was possible."

    Maya Gutierrez, Colin Powell School CCNY

  • "His empathy and patience were part of the alchemy that led to a revelatory and inclusive conversation."

    Karen Bornarth, Hot Bread Kitchen

  • "I find Leigh's work to be complex, participatory, transformative and hugely inspirational."

    Nayantara Sen, Race Forward

  • "Leigh's ability to provide a holistic view to understanding the systems at work in our world is remarkable."

    Chante Harris, Co-Founder, Women of Color Collective in Sustainability | Forbes 30 Under 30

SOME WAYS I WORK

to create, shape, guide, and support.

Artist & Joker

Community action, development, and dialogue, through artistic expression. 25+ years as a Theatre of the Oppressed Joker working with groups around the world to dismantle oppression through art practice. Creative experiences that build analysis and open up what talking alone can’t.

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Strategist & Consultant

Organizational consulting, strategic advising, cultural development, and all the moves from here to there. For organizations ready to do the equity and justice work for real — not as a box to check, but as the actual foundation. Surveying the landscape, making plans, and getting ready to become something genuinely different.

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Facilitator & Speaker

Workshops, dialogues, retreats, speeches. Innovative, engaging, fun, and impactful experiences designed thoughtfully to support connection, healing, growth, and development. People don't just leave informed, they leave changed — forever changed (and actually have fun in the process).

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Thought Partner & Coach

Deep, rigorous, and genuinely caring 1:1 work for leaders ready for the real conversation. Coaching, strategic thought partnership, and honest counsel for navigating the impossible tensions between your values and your institution while holding all your complexity with rigor, care, and a lot of joy.

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How the work

WORKS

Across all of it — the art, the facilitation, the strategy, the thought partnership — I'm building two things simultaneously:

Critical Analysis: The ability to truly understand all the components of our complex systems—including analysis of systemic power, privilege, and oppression—and take them apart.

Creative Thinking: the capacity to respond imaginatively. To build approaches that have never been tried, toward a future that doesn't yet exist.

And to do this with intention, rigor, and care. And always a whole lot of joy.

Because…

Liberation is in the direction of joy.

This isn’t fluff. This is real strategy work. Because if liberation work doesn’t feel good, then we’re doing it wrong.

Want some more?

Here are some things I’ve written and said that might spark your imagination for what’s possible.

Over 25 years and over 100 clients, I’ve worked with thousands around the world. Here’s

A SHORT LIST

American Civil Liberties Union

Catskill Mountainkeepers

Condé Nast

Conservation Colorado

Disclosure (the film)

Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance

Environmental Defense Fund

Global Strategy Group

Heightened Scrutiny (the film)

Hot Bread Kitchen

HR&A

Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center

International Rescue Committee

Landscape Architecture Foundation

Mount Sinai

The New School

NYC Dept of Youth and Community Development

New York Theatre Workshop

Queens Museum

Ralph Lauren

Roundabout Theatre Company

SEIU 32BJ

Sierra Club

Spotify

Stonewall Community Foundation

The New York Times

The Solutions Project

And so many more.

Here are some more kind words folks are saying.

  • “Leigh's approach encouraged us to push boundaries, explore new ideas and co-design thoughtfully together.”

    Gloria Walton, The Solutions Project

  • "A gifted facilitator, trainer and problem solver, Leigh set us on the right path to help us advance our mission."

    Oliver Bernstein, Steady Hand PR


  • "This work is hard. There are no clear answers. As a coach, Leigh helped me with the strategies I needed to give myself space and grace."

    Michele M.

  • "Leigh is thoughtful, methodical, and extremely knowledgeable."

    Sarah Hodgdon, The Management Center


  • “The changes I have been able to make in my organization would not have been possible without Leigh's initial support.”

    Dr Charles Beale, New York City Gay Men's Chorus 

  • “Leigh's knowledge and care showed through as he helped us craft a workshop that was powerful and relevant."

    Joanna Gurin, BewilderArts

  • "Leigh has helped guide us toward an expansion of our constituency while demanding that the organization remain responsive and flexible."

    Mark Weinberg, PTO

  • "Leigh has moved the needle on our conversations farther than I thought was possible."

    Maya Gutierrez, Colin Powell School CCNY

  • "His empathy and patience were part of the alchemy that led to a revelatory and inclusive conversation."

    Karen Bornarth, Hot Bread Kitchen

  • "You will leave the room vastly more prepared to be a problem-posing troublemaker in a world that needs more people shaking things up.”

    Bobby Gordon, UCLA Art & Global Health Center

  • "I find Leigh's work to be complex, participatory, transformative and hugely inspirational."

    Nayantara Sen, Race Forward

  • "Leigh's ability to provide a holistic view to understanding the systems at work in our world is remarkable."

    Chante Harris, Co-Founder, Women of Color Collective in Sustainability | Forbes 30 Under 30

SO, LET’S CHAT!

All great connections starts with a conversation. You'll learn more about me, I'll learn more about you, and we’ll dream up some ideas of what's possible.

leigh@sleighthompson.com