Andrew Thorp

Until January 2021, Andrew served for 15 years as the Executive Director of the Miriam Foundation, a St. Louis nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with learning disabilities and their families. As Executive Director he was responsible for growth and all organizational functions including the acquisition/allocation of funding, strategic planning, and management of a 100+-member staff (6 direct reports supporting development, finance/administration, of the Miriam School, Miriam Academy, Miriam Learning Center, and Miriam Switching Post). He managed a $6.6M annual budget. At his departure, the Miriam School and Academy had an enrollment of 160 students (K-12 grades) and the Miriam Learning Center provided service for over 1,000 students/ year from 70 different schools. 

Among Andrew’s early accomplishments at the Miriam Foundation were his successes in restructuring the Board of Directors and resetting the strategic direction with a focus on expanding the reach into the community. Through his effective management of multiple fundraising campaigns, he has secured over $30M in funding—resources that have fueled the development and launch of critical growth initiatives and the creation of a multimillion-dollar endowment.

Early in his career Andrew served as both an agriculture volunteer and a Regional Representative for the U.S. Peace Corps in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa. He also held various positions with the Coro Leadership Center. In 1995, he joined Coro as the Director of the Coro Fellows Program, a nine-month, full-time, graduate-level leadership and public affairs education program supporting 12 Fellows annually. In 1999, He also served as Training Director, Associate Executive Director and ultimately Executive Director with oversight of administration, finance, development, marketing, program management, and training.

Currently, he serves as Interim Executive Director for Building Futures whose mission is to  bring young people together to critically think, invent, and create sustainable solutions for their everyday, real-world problems in order to lead better, healthier lives.

Andrew holds a Master of Public Administration from the American University School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in history from The College of Wooster.