Leslie Thomas is the founding Executive and Creative Director of ART WORKS Projects. She is also an architect, Emmy-award winning art director, and mom. Leslie is a founding principal with LARC Inc., a national architectural practice, and is a graduate of Columbia University and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She serves on the boards of Congo Kids Initiative and the Right to Be Free and is on the Chicago Council on Global Affairs “Women and Global Development “Steering Committee. Leslie’s work has toured globally and been the recipient of grants from The National Endowment for the Arts, the MacArthur Foundation, the Humanity United Fund and the Graham Foundation. She is committed to the use of art and design for public good.