Nicolee Thompson

Nicolee Thompson is the CEO and executive director of Mitchell Swaback Charities Inc. and Harvest Compassion Center. MSC was founded in 2004 to honor the legacy of Thompson’s brother, Mitchell Swaback, who died at age 23 in a drowning accident. Swaback’s passion for serving others inspired Thompson to establish the nonprofit to continue making a positive impact just as her brother had done.

Recognizing the growing need for support in the Phoenix area following the 2008–09 recession, Thompson and her family aimed to address the issue of food and clothing insecurity. They embarked on extensive research, visiting food banks and social service organizations throughout the region, and Thompson envisioned a new approach to food banking.

Thompson and her family created the Harvest Compassion Center in 2011. These centers offer a unique and dignified shopping experience that resembles upscale grocery stores and clothing boutiques. Each client is welcomed as a guest, and there are no restrictions on accessing the center's services. Thompson wanted to provide holistic support to families, not only addressing their immediate food and clothing needs but also offering prayer, love, compassion and resources to help lift them toward stability.

Thompson opened the first Harvest Compassion Center in an underserved ZIP code in North Phoenix. Since then, two more locations were established in the Maryvale and West Phoenix communities. Under Thompson’s leadership, the Harvest Compassion Centers have become hubs of community support, powered by more than 2,000 volunteers who serve the three locations six days a week. To date, the centers have provided nourishment, clothing and care to more than 150,000 people.

“The most important risk I took as a leader was diving in headfirst, believing that my family and I could start a nonprofit from scratch, create our own unique food and clothing bank and attract hundreds of others to join us with no prior social service or nonprofit experience!” Thompson said. “I still remember our first 'information meeting,' that was the first time I publicly stood in front of strangers, shared what Harvest Compassion Center was going to be and asked for them to join us. That was scary. But God provided me with the strength, courage and mindset that we could impact hurting families in our community and that goal far outweighed any hesitation!

“That first meeting 15 years ago was a success; I hoped that at least 10 people would show, we had 26! Twenty-six new volunteers who wanted to help others, and now over 2,000 volunteers join us annually!”

Under Thompson’s guidance, Harvest Compassion Center's budget has grown from $50,000 to $1.4 million. In 2022, the organization served more than 13,000 families, distributing more than 650,000 pounds of food and hygiene products, 78,000 pieces of clothing, over 100,000 diapers and more than 5,500 Bibles and bedtime stories. Thompson said her proudest accomplishment is carrying on her brother's legacy and witnessing the incredible growth of the organization.