Brandon Thorne

Brandon Thorne (he/him) is a senior program officer with the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation, where he supports the organization’s national grantmaking in early childhood development, youth development, and education. Prior to joining the foundation, Thorne served as a program officer at The Chicago Community Trust and also as chief of staff for former state Senator Kwame Raoul.

Throughout his career, Thorne has worked to improve processes, systems, and policies affecting underserved populations with a focus on advancing equity. Most notably, his work has focused on addressing affordable housing issues, increasing services for the homeless, implementing equitable education practices, workforce development, and youth violence prevention. In his work, Thorne is committed to fulfilling the vision of Urie Bronfenbrenner in creating a society in which every child has “at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her.”

After receiving a B.A. in English from the University of Iowa, Thorne spent three years with the U.S. Peace Corps in Bangladesh, returning to the U.S. to earn a master’s in social service administration from the University of Chicago. Thorne and his partner live in Chicago, where they are the proud parents of two Chicago Public Schools students.