Jennifer Gray Thompson is a lifelong resident of Sonoma Valley in Northern California. She attended Santa Rosa Junior College and graduated from Dominican University in 2001 with degrees in English and History. After teaching high school for 10 years, Jennifer went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Administration from University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. Post-graduate school, Jennifer worked for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. After the devastating fires of October 2017, she accepted a position as Executive Director of Rebuild NorthBay Foundation (RNBF), an organization dedicated to helping the region rebuild better, greener, safer, and faster.

In 2020, RNBF created After the Fire: Recover. Rebuild. Reimagine. (ATF3R), and Jennifer became CEO. Jennifer also serves on the board of La Luz Center, a nonprofit that primarily aids the Latino community in Sonoma Valley. She is cofounder of CANVAS, an association of professional leaders in disaster working together to “listen locally, act regionally, reform nationally.”