Elisa Thompson

Dr. Elisa Thompson serves as an Associate Teaching Professor and Doctoral Writing Coach in the Department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona (1998), an MA in Educational Psychology (1996), and a BS in Psychology from Florida State University (1991). Her work focuses on supporting doctoral students through writing workshops and qualitative methodology coaching, while also teaching courses in research methods, statistics, and higher education counseling.

Research interests include self-regulation strategies for dissertation completion and demographic predictors of undergraduate retention. She received the SAHE Effective Educator Award in 2022. Thompson actively participates in institutional governance, serving on committees such as the UCCS Strategic Initiatives Committee and College of Education Faculty Promotion Criteria Committee. She has also chaired tenure-track faculty search committees and acted as Associate Chair of her department. Community involvement includes roles in church programs and K-12 educational accountability committees.