Staff Person of the Year 2021: Ann Marie Thompson
“Ann Marie fights so hard for our students. She is an advocate and really exemplifies the student-centeredness that we celebrate at RWU Law.”
The Class of 2021 has voted Ann Marie Thompson, RWU Law's assistant director of Student Finance & Records, as Staff Person of the Year!
“Ann Marie is a perfect example of how to be professional, kind, and personable,” said Dean Gregory W. Bowman. “She is excellent at what she does, and our law school runs more smoothly because of her. I am grateful to be her colleague, and I am so gratified that our graduating students have selected her for this honor.”
Thompson, who was also voted Staff Person of the Year by the Class of 2020, said she was humbled by the recognition.
“I am truly honored to have been recognized by our students during a year where we have all been faced with so many challenges,” she said. “My biggest challenge was to be able to provide the support that our students needed in a virtual environment. I believe our whole law school community came together as a team and was able to provide our students with the resources they needed to succeed.”
A popular personality at RWU Law for more than a decade now, Thompson was born and raised in Barrington, R.I. She still lives there with her husband, Jim, and their two daughters Danielle, 21, and Grace, 18 (along with their rescue dog, Luna).
Trained in bookkeeping, Thompson spent the 90s working at Fleet Bank (now Bank of America). “I worked on all of their mergers and acquisitions, converting acquired banks' back-end general ledger operations to Fleet operations,” she said. Thompson took a break from the workforce to raise her daughters, but continued to work part-time, doing bookkeeping “for a few small businesses.” She also served for a while as a partner in the restaurant, The Nat Porter Inn, in Warren.
In 2010, Thompson joined the Admissions Department at RWU Law, where she quickly made an impression. “Ann Marie fights so hard for our students,” said Michael Donnelly-Boylen, assistant dean of admissions. “I saw it in the Admissions Office on a regular basis. She is an advocate and really exemplifies the student-centeredness that we celebrate at RWU Law.”
“We have all learned a great deal this past year of what we are capable of when put to the task,” Thompson said. “Our graduating class should be very proud of the resilience they displayed this past year. They were able to overcome many obstacles and stressful situations to successfully reach this moment. I am grateful to have been a small part of their success.”
Congratulations, Ann Marie!