On the morning of October 21, 2014, Taylor Thompson’s mom Maureen passed from this world to the next after a courageous on and off 11-year battle with breast cancer. Taylor, who was 15 at the time, put it this way, “There are so many different ways that our family could have taken the loss. We asked ourselves, ‘What would mom want us to do if she was still here?’ For me, the answer is that she wouldn’t want us to sit around. She would want us to do things, to change the world.” As a student at the University of Texas School of Architecture, years before Taylor was born, Maureen and her team won a design competition in which their design was used to build an Austin Habitat for Humanity home. This life-changing experience inspired Maureen's parents to volunteer with their local Habitat. Continuing on a multi-generational legacy of volunteering, Taylor raised $85K to fund an Austin Habitat for Humanity home in memory of his mom and spearheaded a powerful outpouring of love as it was built in the spring of 2016. Attend this inspiring session to learn how people such as yourself can re-purpose adversity into something wonderful for your community.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Amy Jones
O'Connell Robertson
Annette Lopez
State of Texas
Phyllis Snodgrass
Austin Habitat For Humanity
Taylor Thompson
St Andrew's Episcopal School