Brent Thompson is Director of Communications at the William Penn Foundation, where he provides communications support and counsel to the Foundation's grantees, manages the Foundation's external affairs, and serves as Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors.

Previously, Brent served as Chief of Staff at the American Red Cross in Philadelphia, where his responsibilities included public affairs and strategic planning. Before that, Brent managed several programs at Search for Common Ground, a Washington-based NGO engaged in international and domestic conflict resolution.  

Brent is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and co-chairs its Strategic Planning Committee. He also serves on the Steering Committee of New Jersey Together - an emerging movement designed to inspire grantmakers to collectively respond to some of the state's most intractable problems. He is on the Advisory Board of the Regional Foundation Center (a collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia) and has served on the Communications Committees of Delaware Valley Grantmakers and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition. He volunteers with his local United Way as an allocations chair.

Brent earned a master's degree from the Fels Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Drew University. He lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife and daughter.