Meet Coach Patricia Thompson

Patricia Thompson works within the School of Education.

Her Top 5 Strengths include:

She describes the coaching experience as:

"I’ve been a life-long ‘coach’ throughout my career—As a teacher and leader for over 35 years in education within a K-12 environment in public and Catholic Schools; With student athletes in high schools where I taught and coached; and with my former K-12 colleagues and current UP graduate and post-graduate students as they enter new phases of leadership in education in their respective careers. 

I can honestly say that I’ve loved each and every stop along the way, including urban Portland, a small district near Mt Hood, a small district on the Oregon coast and my alma mater in downtown Portland. Most importantly, I am grateful for the relationships that I’ve built with students, families, colleagues and staff in each school and district where I’ve served. 

My top five strengths of connectedness, relator, empathy, developer and arranger highlight my natural talents in Relationship Building overall. I believe that my strengths, along with my years of experience and expertise in organizational leadership for leading and learning, provide a great foundation for me to be of service to others as they build their leadership foundation at the University of Portland. 

My first ‘retirement’ was in 2012 and I knew immediately that I was’t ready to really retire. So I immediately sought out the University of Portland School of Education to see what new adventures might await me. And along the way, I was also able to successfully complete my Ed.D. at UP—a lifelong goal for which I’m very thankful to have achieved here on The Bluff! So now I work with Master’s, Doctoral, and post-graduate students who have the desire to be a school leader in public or Catholic schools. And I feel truly blessed to continue my passion as an educator. Here’s to the future—Onward!"