Michael Thompson was Founder of the Thomas Jefferson Institute, starting the non-profit after twenty years as owner of his own marketing company in Springfield, Virginia. During eleven of these years he was also president of a family owned group of furniture stores in Georgia. He was very active in national, state and local politics as well as a number of community organizations, commissions, and committees. He was the Past Chairman of the Virginia Leadership Council for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and served as Vice Chairman of the award-winning Fund for American Studies. Mr. Thompson passed away in September, 2019 after an almost year-long battle against leukemia.