Chris Thompson and Lesley Lang and bridging the gap — in more ways than one.
What happens when two passionate community builders find each other and fall in love? More passion, baby. And speaking of babies… one of those too.
Lesley Lang and Chris Thompson met professionally in the summer of 2014. Lang was interviewing Thompson for a board position at the Cornwall Futures Development Council, where she was a board member.
At that first meeting, Chris remembers Lesley asking him, in reference to the CFDC, “You are a busy man, so how do you intend to make time for us?” With feelings for Lesley, he chose to interpret the question on a more personal level and responded, “I can always make the time for things I am passionate about.”
It took three more years before the two became a couple. But once they expressed their feelings for one another, it was like two freight trains colliding, says Lesley. Chris likes to call it “movie love”. Within a few short months in the spring of 2017, the two had moved in together, announced their engagement… and her due date.
In talking with this local power couple, it’s clear that their relationship is built on passion. Passion for each other, but also for their communities.
Photo by Jason McNamara, Framed Photography.
Lesley, currently the Executive Director for the CFDC and Chris, Director of the Office of Economic Development for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, are both strong advocates of more collaboration between Cornwall and Akwesasne and encourage local leaders to embrace regional inclusion. With that in mind, they worked together to launch the Cross Border Partnership program in January 2017, a roundtable initiative designed to encourage dialogue and trust between Akwesasne and the municipalities that surround it.
They are realistic about the challenges of bringing these two communities together. But they are both hopeful about the possibilities moving forward.
Building on a foundation of love and mutual respect puts these community builders at a distinct advantage. They are able to use intimate knowledge of their respective communities to help each other address professional obstacles.
“Our relationship makes large obstacles smaller,” Lesley says. “We’re able to offer each other advice and insight on how to handle a difficult situation or understand where feelings expressed in a boardroom meeting might be coming from.”
Photo by Jason McNamara, Framed Photography.
Another advantage of being partners professionally and personally is what Lesley described as “a fluid blend of work and life.”
“Economic development is something you live. It’s not something you turn off when you get home at night,” explains Chris.
On their own and together, Lesley and Chris have already accomplished much in their careers. But the best is yet to come for these two—and soon to be three.
Less than six months after this article was published, Chris was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. He lived to meet his son, Angus Thompson, but passed away on March 11, 2018, surrounded by friends and family. We miss him greatly.
