Katharine Thompson

Professional Bio

Katharine E. T. Thompson is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Penn State and a Research Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University. She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Stony Brook University and a B.S. and B.A. from Penn State. Trained as an ethnographer and human ecologist, her research focuses on the intersections of food security, biodiversity conservation, and health equity for communities facing climate change across Sub-Saharan Africa, with fieldwork in Madagascar, Tanzania, and Nigeria.

Beyond academia, Thompson is Founder and Executive Director of the Amani Foundation (U.S.) and Co-President of Amani Initiatives (Tanzania): organizations dedicated to addressing multidimensional childhood poverty through education for students and climate-resilient livelihoods for families.