L’Oreal Thompson Payton is the Vice President, Communications at Springboard Enterprises, where she leads the brand voice and communications ecosystem. An award-winning journalist, author, and communications strategist with nearly two decades of experience, L’Oreal has built a career turning complex ideas into compelling stories that move people to action.
She brings deep expertise in executive communications, media relations, digital strategy, and thought leadership, having elevated voices and visibility for mission-driven organizations including OneGoal and Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. L’Oreal is also the founder of LT in the City Media, a storytelling and communications consultancy, and Zora’s Place, a Black feminist bookstore and community hub in Evanston, Illinois.
Her journalism has appeared in Fortune, ESSENCE, SELF, New York Magazine, and The Cut, where she centers underrepresented voices and explores leadership, mental health, and workplace equity. She is the author of Stop Waiting for Perfect (BenBella Books) and Amanda Gorman: Poet and Activist (Penguin Random House), with two forthcoming titles from PRH and Beacon Press.
