Elizabeth Thompson, a Brooklyn, NY-based a consultant to a range of sustainable design initiatives, was the Executive Director of The Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) from 2004 to 2016 and founding Director of the highly influential Buckminster Fuller Challenge ("socially responsible design's highest award") until 2017. During her tenure at BFI she led the development of several world-class exhibitions honoring Fuller's work and launched several internationally renowned design education programs.