Hope Thomson

Hope Thomson is a Senior Project Director at the UNC Environmental Finance Center (UNC EFC). In this role, she works with communities to improve their utility’s financial capacity and plan for capital improvements. Hope believes that strong financial management of water and wastewater systems ensures safe and essential services that protect public health and environmental quality.

Before working at the UNC EFC, Hope was employed at Center on Financial Risk in Environmental Systems (CoFIRES), researching the impact of flood events on property owners, insurers and local governments. This experience was a crucial part of Hope’s journey, shaping her understanding and passion for improving the financial resilience of institutions that affect the environment and public health. Before graduate school, Hope was employed at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center where she coordinated and executed science education experiences for children and adults across North Carolina. This experience was instrumental in shaping Hope’s interest and experience in supporting rural populations and increasing knowledge access for all age groups.

Hope loves music, cooking, reading, spending time with loved ones, and being outside. If she wasn’t working on water and wastewater issues, she would be a librarian, connecting people of all ages with books and new experiences.

Education
MS, Public Health, 2021, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
BS, Chemistry, 2015, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill