Charles Thompson, 1964 graduate of East High, currently is President of the Colorado Boys Ranch Foundation. The Boys Ranch is a nationally acclaimed youth organization providing a range of residential and community based programs and services for troubled youth (both boys and girls) and their families across Colorado and the United States.

During Thompson's tenure as president of the organization, he has received recognition in the form of the Samaritan Institute Award for Non-Profit Business and an El Pomar Outstanding Youth Organization Award, and he has published research articles in conjuction with projects at Harvard University and Colorado State University. He has been featured nationally in media presentations produced by NBC Nightly News, Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel, and the PBS Nature Series.