Austin Thompson (MBA) is Senior Director of Strategy and Communities at America Achieves. He is a trusted advisor, technology educator and board member committed to inclusive innovation and equity across lines of racial, economic and geographic difference. Before America Achieves, Austin worked in advanced manufacturing at SpaceX on a low-earth orbit satellite constellation called Starlink owning mechanical sourcing for a space laser optical communication system. While at SpaceX he launched a $10M initiative to connect underserved students in the Ukraine, Brazil and rural U.S. He has an MBA from Duke and undergraduate degree from Howard University in Washington D.C. He has been the Executive Director and lead for a number of philanthropic intermediaries focused on place-based community technology programs and economic development mobilizing over $32M in pooled giving. He lives in Redmond, Washington with his wife and puppy.
