It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news of the passing of John Thompson on May 9th. John served as Executive Director of COPAFS from 2017 to 2019. Prior to his tenure with COPAFS he had a storied career at both the US Census Bureau and NORC at the University of Chicago. Thompson served 27 years at the Census Bureau in various capacities, including Chief of the Decennial Management Division and Associate Director. In 2002, John joined NORC as Executive Vice President for Survey Operations and became NORC’s CEO and President in 2008. During his tenure at NORC he still worked hard to improve federal statistics and captured many large federal contracts including the National Immunization Survey. In 2013, John was tapped by President Obama to serve as Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, a post he held until 2017.
During his stint as COPAFS Executive Director, John brought his experience working within the federal statistical system and NORC to bear on many initiatives COPAFS undertook while he was at the helm. He also had a large influence on the FCSM Research and Policy Conference and made substantive contributions to the material presented at the conference as well as improvement in conference operations.
Among survey methodologists, John was a great mentor and had a depth of knowledge rarely found in one person. He will be missed greatly by the federal statistical community. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues at this time.