Staff Person of the Year 2022: Ann Marie Thompson

The Class of 2022 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 Classes of 2020 and 2021, said she was humbled by the recognition.

“It is so satisfying to be recognized for a job that I truly love,” she said. “If I am able to solve a problem for a student, or ease their stress, then I am doing my job. I am only a small part of our large, close-knit law school family, who all work tirelessly to make sure our students have a positive law school experience. I am always a little sad to see our students leave, but it gives me great pleasure to hear about all of the great things that they are doing.”

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 and Grace (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 in the past few years about what we are capable of when put to the task,” Thompson said. “Our graduating class should be very proud of the resilience they have displayed. 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!