About Paul R. Thompson III

Paul R. Thompson III is the executive director of apprenticeship and workforce solutions at City Colleges of Chicago, where he leads the systemwide development and deployment of scalable apprenticeship and other work-based learning programs to move students into high potential careers in business, health care, manufacturing, information technology, transportation and hospitality. Thompson previously served as the dean of business and professional services at Harold Washington College, where he led the redevelopment and oversight of business programs for the district. He brings more than 25 years of business and management experience from a diverse set of roles and industries. Thompson has served as an adjunct instructor, credentialed in business, CIS and interdisciplinary studies. Thompson has been appointed to the Roosevelt University, Heller College of Business Advisory Board, the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board’s Apprenticeship Committee; the National Skills Coalition’s National Apprenticeship Panel and is a Past Commodore of the Jackson Park Yacht Club. He received an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in finance and quality and a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Western Michigan University. Thompson is also a 2015 Fellow of the Civic Leadership Academy at the University Of Chicago Harris School Of Public Policy and a 2019 Fellow of the Chicagoland Workforce Leadership Academy at the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program.