Lindsay Thompson is an ethicist and professor at the Johns Hopkins University with a special interest in contested values at the intersection of traditional and progressive movements in contemporary cultures. Her research and teaching interests center on the dynamics of contested values informing social norms and civic conscience in conditions of uncertainty and risk. Her community-engaged practice focuses on health and wellbeing as the ethical foundation of leadership, innovation, and productivity in business, professions, government, and society. A large and growing network of alumni and students rely on her Moral Compass and Leadership Labyrinth tools to navigate morally stressful careers and life challenges.
Education
- PhD, Classics/Anthropology of Ancient and Traditional Societies, Johns Hopkins University
- MA, Education, University of St. Thomas
- BA, French, University of Minnesota
Research
Selected publications
Thompson, L.J. (2026). A Cross-Cultural Framework for Understanding Global Gender Issues in Business and Society. In: Luetge, C., Thejls Ziegler, M. (eds) Handbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics. Springer.
Sigler, Brittany; Rowen, Neil; Thompson, Lindsay J; Pollack Porter, Keshia; Singer, Sara; Gaskin, Darrell. (2025) Exploring the role of health in corporate reporting: An NLP-assisted analysis of corporate proxy statements. Journal of Business Ethics.
Sigler, B. E., Pollack Porter, K., Thompson, L., Singer, S., & Gaskin, D. (2024) Can tech be good for health? Investigating health-promoting strategies in the private sector. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1395422.
Thompson, L. J., & Milter, R. G. (2024). Livable cities: Wealth for human flourishing. In The Capability Approach and the Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 285-299). Routledge.
Sigler, Brittany, Rowen, Neil, Thompson, Lindsay, Pollack Porter, Keshia, Singer, Sara, Gaskin, Darrell (2023) “A Case Study Analysis of How Products Might Be Designed to Promote Health”. Chronicle of Health Impact Assessment.
Thompson, Lindsay J. (2023) The Leadership Labyrinth: Values for a Livable Future. Kendall Hunt Press.
Thompson, Lindsay J. (2022). “The Boys Under My Deck: Racialized Violence and Moral Repair,” in Narrative Ethics in Public Health: The Value of Stories (pp 47-61). Cham: Springer International Publishing. Chicago.
Thompson, Lindsay J., Wicks, Andrew, Werhane, Patricia, and Bowie, Norman (2021). “Stretching the Boundaries of Business Ethics Scholarship”. Business Ethics Quarterly.
Works in progress
- Thompson, Lindsay J. Livable Cities: A Lab Manual for Community Leaders.
- Thompson, Lindsay J. (2026) The Moral Claims and Duties of AI-generated Wealth. Journal of Business Ethics. In review.
Teaching
Current
- Business Leadership and Human Values
- The CityLab Catalyst: Innovation for Livable Cities
Honors and distinctions
- Editor, Special Issue on Overlooked Thinkers, Business Ethics Quarterly
- Best paper award, International Vincentian Business Ethics Conference, 2018
- Award for best academic paper at the 25th annual conference of 200 participants from 87 universities in 25 countries
- Certificate of Recognition for Community Service. Mayor of Baltimore, 2018
- Induction into Lambda Alpha International, honorary land economics society, 2017
- Green Blujay Award for sustainability leadership, Johns Hopkins University, 2015
- Faculty Excellence Award, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2009
- Editorial team, CHOICE Award for Outstanding Academic Title, 2008
- Editorial team, BRASS Business References Award for Outstanding Title, 2008
Impact and engagement
2024-Present: Bmore Coop: Co-founder of a local cooperative business enabling small Black Butterfly businesses to collaborate in competing for large projects that until now have gone to larger out-of-state development companies. The Bmore Coop tackles multiple interconnected Baltimore City challenges (e.g., blight, unemployment, disinvestment, health disparities) to scale a regenerative placemaking model of community-engaged real estate development featuring affordable homes, 100% non-toxic, environmentally friendly building materials, energy-positive power, modular design and construction, and local labor force in replacing 4,000+ vacant and abandoned properties in Black Butterfly neighborhoods.
2023-2025: OSPOS++: Strategic advisor in building a global network of open-source program offices (OSPOs) sponsored by the United Nations to support communities, universities, governments, and civic institutions through impactful sharing of data and energy to promote the common good.
2022-2025: Bmore Collaboratory. Principal Investigator and Project Team Leader (Carey Business School, Whiting School of Engineering, 21st Century Cities) to develop a collaborative “town/gown” model of engagement fostering business and ecosystem equity and inclusion and leveraging JHU institutional power to accelerate change in the structural dynamics of wealth creation and foster a more equitable and inclusive entrepreneurial and business ecosystem in the Baltimore Black Butterfly, a geographic area that has been underserved by business and financial systems and the economy more broadly.
2017-Present: Mount Clare Transformation: Co-founder of a collaborative initiative to transform the historic Baltimore City colonial plantation now curated by the Maryland Colonial Dames (NSCDA-MD) through creation of a new corporate entity representing all its diverse stakeholders. The new Mount Clare corporate board is creating a state-of-the-art historic and cultural site focused on exploring, documenting, and honoring the complex history, archaeology, and culture of an estimated 200 enslaved African Americans, indentured servants, and others who provided much of the labor and entrepreneurial genius for the first and largest industrial fortune in colonial America that made Baltimore an epicenter of the industrial revolution in North America. Private funding.
2013-Present: CityLabs USA: Catalyst Cities. Founding leader of a global network of JHU alumni and colleagues focused on collaborative cross-sector innovation strategies to foster livable cities and communities for a sustainable future: Sustainable habitat, healthy people, resilient communities, empowered citizens, and shared prosperity.
2004-Present: Labyrinth Leaders: Founding leader of an international network of Carey Business School alumni, colleagues, and friends focused on practicing and fostering ethical business and institutional leadership in local communities.