Women & Business Profile: Tammy T. Thompson

Tammy T. Thompson
Catapult Greater Pittsburgh, President & CEO

When Tammy T. Thompson founded Catapult Greater Pittsburgh in 2021, she knew that families needed more than financial education to build stability, dignity and generational wealth. “They needed systems that understand trauma, coordinated resources and opportunities to build assets, not just survive,” she says.

Thompson grew up in Pittsburgh experiencing the same hardships that she now assists others in navigating, including generational poverty and homelessness. “This work is both deeply professional and deeply personal,” she says.

Catapult also addresses other barriers to economic mobility, homeownership and entrepreneurship such as lack of access to capital. Thompson says she is “unapologetically focused on dignity” in developing programs that include poverty-trauma education and coordinated wrap-around services. Over the last five years, Catapult has grown into a nationally recognized model for community-centered economic development. Thompson says their strategy has shifted to include addressing socioeconomic structures of inequality in addition to providing direct support. She hopes that, in the future, they’ll be able to service communities across the country.

Thompson believes “strong leadership means building teams, developing people, telling the truth about systemic inequities and refusing to reduce human beings to case numbers or outcomes on a spreadsheet.” She considers herself a visionary leader—as well as storyteller, fundraiser and culture-keeper—who lives out the advice to lead with compassion and anchor decisions in clarity.

She extends her role as Catapult’s president and CEO through speaking nationally, supporting neighborhood collaborations and mentoring emerging leaders. She encourages other women in business to trust their voice, “especially when it challenges the status quo.” It’s also important, she says, to care for their own wellness, too.

Through her dedication in uplifting individuals and their communities, Thompson has won the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s Housing Pioneer Award and WQED and Giant Eagle’s Community Champion Award. Additionally, Catapult Greater Pittsburgh has received national recognition, including a MacKenzie Scott/Yield Giving Open Call award and a $3 million grant from JPMorgan Chase.

“These honors reflect the power of our team, our partners and the families who trust us with their journeys,” Thompson says. “Sustainable success isn’t built on perfection. It’s built on persistence, partnerships and purpose.”