Roslyn Dawson Thompson joined the board of what’s now the Texas Women’s Foundation in the late 1980s. She remained involved with the organization while establishing a thriving career in marketing. Ten years ago, she left the private sector to become the nonprofit’s CEO. And now, after effecting transformational change at the influential organization, she’s preparing to hand the reins to a successor.
In an email to Texas Women’s Foundation supporters, Thompson shared she’d informed the nonprofit’s board yesterday of her plans to retire. She wrote: “I am ever grateful for the honor of working for and with the finest and most dedicated board, staff, volunteers, donors, program partners, and grantees—all committed to the same values and goals: to advance gender and racial equity and to ensure equal opportunities for all Texas women and girls.”
Under Thompson’s tenure, the organization rebranded from Dallas Women’s Foundation to Texas Women’s Foundation. Its advocacy has helped change policies affecting childcare, healthcare, education, and housing, both locally and throughout the state.
Thompson shared that TWF’s grant-making grew by more than 180 percent and assets by more than 47 percent, and the organization became the first to invest 100 percent of its assets in a fully “mission-aligned, gendered portfolio to deliver strong financial returns and social benefits to women and girls.”
A search committee is being formed to find Thompson’s replacement. She said the organization’s strong foundation “will carry us forward into the future, where our mission, our work, and our impact are needed more than ever.”
For more on Thompson, read this D CEO profile from a few years back.
