Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Paul Thompson

Paul Thompson

Executive Director for the Arts, New York City Public Schools, Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship

New York, NY, United States

Paul Jonathan Thompson is Executive Director of the Arts Office for the New York City Public Schools, the nation’s largest school system. Appointed in 2022, he oversees a $560 million budget and leads citywide arts education initiatives for one million students. He has advanced a vision centered on universal access to high-quality arts learning, launching Studio Artist Residencies with artists such as Jason Moran and Sanford Biggers; creating a Principal Fellows program to strengthen school-based arts leadership; expanding PK–8 borough arts pathways; and opening the ArtsHub, a dedicated arts-making facility in downtown Brooklyn.

A versatile musician and composer, Paul studied trumpet and composition with Wadada Leo Smith and has collaborated with Meshell Ndegeocello and the American Symphony Orchestra. He was a featured performer on Ndegeocello’s 2025 Grammy Award–winning Blue Note release No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin. 

He earned a BA from Bard College, where he serves on the Board of Governors, and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. Paul is a Fellow in the inaugural class of the Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.