Jennifer Gray Thompson, MPA, is the Founder & CEO of After the Fire USA.
Named as one of Forbes "50 over 50" IMPACT Leaders in 2022, Jennifer Gray Thompson has helmed Rebuild North Bay Foundation since January of 2018, right after the North Bay megafire of October of 2017. Gray Thompson took a fledging organization and made it into a powerhouse national nonprofit that is the recognized national leader in recovery from megafires. She serves on the Bipartisan Policy Center Disaster Response Reform Task Force making recommendations to Congress in 2024/25 on reforms.
After the devastating fires in the North Bay of San Francisco in October 2017, she accepted a position as Executive Director of the newly formed 501c3 nonprofit Rebuild North Bay Foundation (RNBF), an organization dedicated to helping the region rebuild better, greener, safer, and faster. Jennifer has led delegations to 18 counties, again lessons forward to virtually every wildfire affected community in the American West. In response to the growing crisis, RNBF created After the Fire USA to help solve the issue of megafire, a climate-based disaster affecting millions of people globally. This initiative was born of practice in communities for several years and the increasing threat of the Era of Megafire.
As CEO of this organization, Jennifer has designed an effective and innovative Wildfire Leadership Network, implemented a Survivor Deployment Model for newly fire-affected communities, provided immersive and actionable After Action Reports to national organizations and communities, advocated with wildfire survivor leaders for sane and smart federal policies, and hosts a national summit on Wildfire Leadership annually in Sonoma, drawing upon leaders from frontline communities as well as the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.
Jennifer is nationally recognized as a leader in the space of wildfire and has presented at several national conferences at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, HAC, Fannie Mae, Brownsfield, Smart Cities, FEMA, and more. Jennifer is the creator and host of the “How to Disaster” podcast, which highlights proven and effective leaders with great ideas in the space of disaster.
