Our Team
CEO, Dr. Doris L. Thompson, Ed.D., D. Min., CBT
Doris Thompson, Ed.D., D.Min., CBT, is the is CEO of Ideal Educational Concepts and Solutions, LLC. She is a former director of secondary schools, math specialist, and math teacher. With more than 15 years of experience in education and leadership, Doris is a U.S. Fulbright scholar to Japan and a Mississippi Teacher Fellowship Program Scholar. Doris has expertise in the areas of effective leadership, student achievement, diversity and inclusion, systematic reform, and youth & young adult ministry. She holds a B.S. in Math Education from Rust College (valedictorian), a M.Ed. degree in K-12 Educational Leadership from Ole Miss, and an Ed.D. degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Eastern Kentucky University. Doris was the student commencement ceremony speaker at her doctoral hooding graduation. Doris also holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Jacksonville Theological Seminary located in Jacksonville, FL. She is a 2016 graduate of the Harvard’s Women in Leadership Program and a 2013 recipient of the American Association of School Administrators Educational Administration Scholarship. Dr. Doris is a Certified Belief Therapist CBT and a Certified Youth Behavior Therapist. Doris is a published author, consultant, motivational speaker, and ordained minister. Dr. Doris is an American Heart Association Licensed Instructor and Licensed Training Provider. Doris is highly inspired by her former husband, mentor, best friend, business partner, & global leader, the late Dr. Sherwood Thompson.
In Memory and Honor of Dr. Sherwood Thompson, Ed.D.
University of Kansas (KU) Dr. Sherwood Thompson Faculty/Staff Champion Award 2023 marks the inaugural presentation of the Dr. Sherwood Thompson Faculty/Staff Champion Award, created in his honor to recognize advocacy for students of color at KU. Dr. SHERWOOD THOMPSON was born on January 7, 1952, in Greenville, South Carolina. After dedicating his formative years to hard work and fighting for racial equity and social justice, he obtained a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies from the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg (Upstate), a master of education and a doctor of education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In addition to several faculty fellowships, he was also awarded numerous certificates to observe his excellence in training and leadership.
Dr. Thompson was the former director of the University of Kansas Office of Minority Affairs (1991-1999), the former executive director of the Model Laboratory School and of Teacher Education Services, former assistant dean of the College of Education, and former interim chief diversity officer at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). He was awarded the 2016 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for innovative diversity program development. Dr. Thompson was a tenured full-professor at EKU.
Professor Thompson served on the editorial boards of the Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning, Journal for the Advancement of Educational Research, and he was a reviewer for the International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations, and the Journal of Negro Education. Additionally, he served as the principal investigator for the Call Me Mister Program, an African American male teacher leadership program and for The Best Should Teach Program, a teaching excellence program for district and college educators. Dr. Thompson also served as an international delegate, guest lecturer and educator in China, India and Pakistan. In 2015 he was awarded the Salzburg Global Seminar Fellowship in Salzburg Austria. He excelled in building global citizenship awareness and international programs, as evidenced by his frequent visitations and scholarly presentations at international universities and conferences.
He was the editor of three books: Views from the Frontline: Voices of Conscience on College Campuses(2012); Campus Diversity Triumphs: Valleys of Hope (2018); and the Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice (2015). He was co-editor of Academic Freedom: Autonomy, Challenges and Conformation (2021); Coping with Gender Inequities: Critical Conversations of Women Faculty (2017); and Exploring Campus Diversity: Case Studies and Exercises (2018). He was listed in The Encompass Digital Repository with over 63 scholarly papers, articles, and essays all variously concerned with education equity, diversity and social justice. Dr. Thompson was also a diversity and inclusive excellence blogger who loved to share his insightful and thought-provoking reflections on current educational issues.
Dr. Thompson held two faculty fellowships from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, he was the recipient of: the Mid-Level Professional Training Certificate from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Dean’s Leadership Institute Certificate from The Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities, and a Certificate from The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Dean’s Leadership Institute, a Certificate from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education Dean’s Advanced Development Institute, a UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy Fellow, and a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow.
Dr. Thompson had served a four-year term as the President of the National Academy of Educational Research (NAER), and a two-year term as the President of the Association for the Advancement of Educational Research (AAER). He was a former member of The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Committee on Meetings and Professional Development. Dr. Thompson was the Executive Director of the Association of the Advancement of Educational Research International (AAERI).
Other than the Association for the Advancement of Educational Research International (AAERI), he was most proud of his brainchild, Ideal Educational Concepts and Solutions, LLC, dedicated to innovations in interactive educational materials and gaming. He was a diversity and inclusive excellence blogger who loved to share his insightful and thought-provoking reflections on current educational issues. His areas of research interest included educational leadership, post-secondary educational trends, organizational development, and race and social justice. He was an avid reader, loved traveling, music, writing, bicycling, and new technology. He had an affinity for artwork, “real McCoy”cookie jars and butterflies. He believed in staying informed, mindfulness and meditation, and striving toward your fullest potential. He was a friend, mentor, and educator to students and other educators around the world.
AMINAH THOMPSON
Clerk of Superior Court, NC
Aminah has dedicated her career to public service, as she has proudly served her county as a Magistrate Judge for the past 13 years. She has presided over countless civil and landlord-tenant cases, performed hundreds of marriages, issued search and arrest warrants, involuntary commitments, ex parte domestic violence protective orders, presided over administrative traffic court, and set conditions of release. Her years on the bench, working closely with the Clerk’s office, have revealed a system in serious need of immediate attention.
The Honorable Aminah Thompson received her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Since starting at Duke, she dedicated her time and talents to education and leadership as a tutor for the athletic department, a Chemistry recitation and laboratory instructor and an editor of the UNC School of Law Research, Reasoning, Writing and Advocacy course materials, enlisted by Dean for Legal Writing and Academic Success.
Thompson worked briefly as a personal injury attorney and litigator, conducting successful negotiations, mediations, arbitrations, and jury trials. Currently, Aminah serves the citizens of North Carolina as Clerk of Superior Court, 14th Judicial District. The Clerk of Superior Court functions as Administrator, Record Keeper, Comptroller, and Judge over several matters that have a direct, immediate, and long-lasting effect on the lives and legacies of citizens.
Aminah’s priorities as Clerk of Superior Court are to focus on decreasing land loss in historically underrepresented communities, establish a Law Library and Resource Center, enhance the effectiveness of court operations, retrain and upskill current staff, and hire additional staff that is more representative of the community they serve. Aminah is committed to leading with compassion, equity, and integrity.
Founder of YourExpertEditor.com, Thompson works for several clients nationwide creating, developing, and refining web/media/marketing content, college and graduate-level academic writing, manuscripts, and various other communications. Her work on housing discrimination was published in The Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice, and on Actualization, published in Until It’s Time: A Collection of Essays on the Power of Waiting.
Thompson serves on several Boards of Directors: Duke Alumni Association Triangle-Secretary, LIFE Skills Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides training and resources to at-risk and homeless young adults-Vice-Chair and the Association for the Advancement of Educational Research-Director of Publications and Program Review.