Dr. Joanna Thompson (she/they) is a mixed-race (Black/Latina) and Queer female who currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for One Workplace, a family-owned interior solutions company in Santa Clara, California. In this role, she supports the One Workplace community of brands in their efforts to establish a collective understanding and application of DEI, ESG, and CSR practices. Dr. Thompson is a criminologist, receiving her B.A. in Criminology & Investigations from West Virginia University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Criminology, Law, and Justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her doctoral research examines the intersections between mixed-race identity and interpersonal victimization, specifically bullying and harassment. Throughout her career, Dr. Thompson has worked to raise awareness of social justice issues through education and scholarship while promoting intersectional community organizing through grassroots and systems-based connections. Academically, she has collaborated with the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies (CERS) at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom where she was a Visiting Scholar with the School of Sociology and Social Policy. She has taught undergraduate and master’s level courses in criminology, public policy, human rights, violence and victimization, and organizational procedure. Professionally, she has served as the Anti-Violence Project Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator and Director of Racial Equity and Inclusion for the Center on Halsted, the largest LGBTQ+ community center in the Midwest. Prior to her role at One Workplace, Dr. Thompson served as the Director of the Office for Multicultural Learning/Rainbow Resource Center at Santa Clara University for 4 1/2 years, facilitating campus engagement through programming, trainings, and data-driven solutions to support best practices that are inclusive and affirming. Dr. Thompson’s opinions and accomplishments have been featured in media, including newsprint, television, multiple BBC News interviews, and a TEDx talk. Dr. Thompson’s research has been presented at various conferences, summits, and seminars across the United States and internationally from Toronto, Canada to Berlin, Germany. In her free time, Dr. Thompson enjoys traveling, attending sporting events, working out at pilates and barre class, and spending time with her two cats: Sabine (6-year old Russian Blue) and Jean-Luc (1 1/2-year old Tabby).
Listed skills include Research, Public Speaking, Teaching, Higher Education, and 30 others.