This impressive Leading the Way nominee for the Founder’s Award grew up in Henderson, N. C., where most of her extended family still lives. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, she planned on becoming an elementary school teacher. But life had a different plan for her: after moving to Burlington in 1983, there were few teaching positions available.
Pam accepted a job as a lead teacher at First Presbyterian Church’s Child Development Center where she developed appropriate lesson plans for two-year-olds. She then moved to Wee Care Development Centers in Burlington and Gibsonville where she was lead teacher for four-year-olds and then director of the 5-star facility for eight years. Pam states that she fell in love with the pre-school aged child through these experiences.
In 1999 Pam began working with Early Childhood Intervention, first with the PACT program through Alamance Caswell Mental Health where she worked as a Smart Start Behavior Specialist. In this position, she supported families and childcare professionals by developing behavior management strategies. Starting in 2016 and continuing to the present, Pam became a supervisor with this program that is based in the Greensboro Children’s Development Services Agency (CDSA) satellite office in Gibsonville. She is the leader of the team responsible for services for children birth to age three with developmental delays or disabilities in Alamance and Caswell Counties. A long-time employee of the Early Intervention Program states “Pam Thompson is our fearless leader. She is encouraging and supportive of each of us, both professionally and personally. She leads by example. She listens, guides, and coaches us through many various situations.” Pam states that “It excites me to be a part of the challenging work we do each day because we see families in our community linked to the resources available to help their children.”
Along the way Pam has developed exceptional relationships with families and as an adjunct professor in the Early Childhood program at Alamance Community College has made a positive impact on hundreds of students. During her nine-year tenure at ACC, the children and families in our community have benefitted greatly after receiving services from Pam.
Understanding the importance of collaboration within the Early Childhood field, she worked with the school system and other providers of birth to five services to renew Alamance County’s Local Interagency Coordinating Council (LICC). Through a partnership with the co-lead from ABSS, Pam has re-established the relevance of the team to find children and families who would benefit from early intervention services. She has also worked extensively with the local medical community, including the Health Department and a majority of pediatric providers to help identify children and families that these programs would help.
On a personal note, Pam is very involved with her church, Glen Hope Baptist, volunteering in the Children’s Ministry and Community Outreach, especially in their partnership with Cummings High School and the AWANA program. Her minister, Rev. Lewis Baker, says Pam “is one of the most consistent and dependable people I have ever known.” She loves spending time with her husband, family, and their four grandchildren (“the best thing ever!”). They enjoy going to Holden Beach and boating at Kerr Lake in their free time. One of her favorite quotes is from A.A. Milne: “Piglet noticed that though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” I think that we should feel a large amount of gratitude for the work Pam Thompson does!
