Co-Founder/President of The Memnosyne Institute (known as The Memnosyne Foundation 2005-2013), Mary Ann is a frequently requested speaker, having done so in Asia/Europe/Americas, including serving as a speaker for the United Nation’s NEXUS Summit in 2011/2012/2013, Heifer International, and as workshop designer/facilitator for Club of Budapest’s (COB) “2010 Design Me A Planet” Conference”; Cordoba Initiative’s Malaysia “WISE Conference” ; and for ELCAS’s international Women For A Caring World 2013-2014.
She led Memnosyne to help negotiate the first alliance in 300 years between the Hopi/Navajo Nations, hosted the mediation for the Liberian Diaspora/Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission via a Memnosyne/Interfaith Center of New York (she serves on their board) collaboration ; and serves as Vice-Chair of Giordano Bruno University(GBU). She negotiated between GBU/GreenWorld Restoration/COB to create Memnosyne’s “School Out of A Box” project aimed at making highschool-doctoral level education available to the poorest regions of the world.
She’s received humanitarian awards including Women That Soar Award, Aga Khan Foundation’s Appreciation Award, SMU’s Profiles In Leadership Award & will receive Northwood University’s 2013 Distinguished Women Award.
She serves as Co-Founder/President of The John Philp Thompson Foundation, providing funding to research non-radiation/chemotherapy treatments for brain cancer; serves on The Mexic-Arte Museum Board; Advisory Boards for both Chicago’s WomanMade Art Gallery who states, "Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk is a prolific artist, writer and social activist!" and Indigenous Institute of Americas.
Honored by AIA as the only non-architect invited to participate in “The Art of Architects” Exhibition, & by The Buckminster Fuller Institute, due to her innovations with geodesics, she was selected out of 500 artists worldwide as ARTV’s Sculptor of the Year. Her sculpture is in private collections/publications. She curates exhibitions, for non-profits & via her art production company, Thompson Fine Art’s Inc. She serves as Executive Producer for Memnosyne’s film-based outreach programs, ‘Many Paths, One Source”, “Memnosyne Institute Mural Empowerment Project: Sankofa!“, and “Empowering A Generation” designed to promote understanding of leading integral theories among young humanitarians.
She has written for magazines & authored chapters for books including, STEP JOURNAL: Wealth Structuring Analysis for Trust and Estate Practitioners, and Social Acupuncture: How Facilitating Integral Philanthropy is the Future of Impactful Humanitarianis" co-written with her husband, Joshua Frenk, for Dr. Ervin Laszlo’s 2013 book, “Dawn of the Akashic Age: New Consciousness, Quantum Resonance, and the Future of The World". Look for her book, Romancing Mexico featuring her insights alongside photography by Gray Hawn in 2013!
