About Me

Early Years

Austin Thompson was born in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, South America, formerly British Guiana. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1977, where he resided in Brooklyn, N.Y. With his family, Austin grew up in the Louis H. Pink House city housing community in East New York, prior to living in the heavily Caribbean-Latin areas of Flatbush and Crown Heights. He is a 1987 graduate of Erasmus Hall High School, where he won championships with his football team, ran track, and was a theater major in the Academy for the Performing Arts. His early corporate career commenced in 1988 with Chase Manhattan Bank as an Executive Assistant, while attending evening classes at Medgar Evers College.

Move to Georgia and Education

In 1992, Austin relocated to Georgia where he continued his education at Atlanta Metropolitan College, and later starting his electronic engineering technology education at DeVry Institute of Technology, now DeVry University. In 1997, he graduated with an Associates of Applied Science Degree, and in 2002, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Telecommunications Management. For graduate coursework, Austin enrolled at Keller Graduate School of Management to complete his MBA in Management and Master of Project Management Degree with honors in 2005. Throughout his entire education, Austin served in several student organizations, to include the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and Student Government.

Business Experience

Before his engineering career commenced, Austin started a Desktop Publishing company, and held numerous executive assistant level positions in Corporate America, such as EDS, The Home Depot, and others. Over the last 23 years, Austin worked as a Compliance Engineer for several OSHA 17025 compliance test laboratories, and is currently a Senior Business Development Manager for SGS, N.A.

Austin is a published author and owns a Management Consulting company, in which he serves as Principal Consultant to entrepreneurs in the start-up space, micro enterprises, and small business owners. In addition, he organizes and hosts annual small business conferences, workshops, and webinars. He consults and networks with entrepreneurs in several African and Caribbean countries, Turkey, and the United States. Additionally, Austin served as advisor to Dr. Ivelaw Griffith, former President of Fort Valley State University and Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, respectively. Austin held memberships in the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, which he plans to renew after the pandemic. His chamber collaborations also include the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Jamaican Chamber of Commerce, and Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce. He is a former Adjunct Professor at Shorter University, where he taught business and project management courses for eight years. Austin has over 20 years of active community service in the Guyanese and Caribbean community, also a volunteer with the Latin America Association (LAA) for the past 15 years. He is the recipient of numerous community awards, especially House Resolution #1475 from the Georgia House of Representatives for his community and business leadership. In 2012, Austin was elected by the 7th Congressional District of Georgia as a District Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and with 30 years of political activism, he was influenced to launch his campaign for a City Council seat in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

Hobbies

Austin enjoys building relationships with fellow entrepreneurs, STEM leaders, and global thought leaders, as well as reading, sports, traveling, mentoring, being a servant and transformational leader in community affairs, and fishing. As a member of the Discovery High School Advisory Board, Austin enjoys working with young student entrepreneurs and being an influence in their development. He strongly believes we all have a special gift to help grow and strengthen humanity, regardless of our diverse backgrounds.