Dr. Thompson is a scholar, focusing her research and teaching on examining education laws, policies, and PreK-20 school and university practices and their impact on equity, access, and opportunities for historically minoritized students and communities. Specifically, Dr. Thompson Dorsey concentrates on school segregation, school discipline, affirmative action in higher education, school choice policies, implicit bias, and culturally responsive policies and practices.
Dr. Thompson Dorsey is published in numerous leading education journals, and she has received grant funding from the Spencer, Gates, and Wallace Foundations for her research. She is often interviewed on or quoted in national and local media outlets, including the New York Times, CNN.com, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and National Public Radio (NPR). In addition, Dr. Thompson Dorsey is often invited to conduct racial equity trainings and develop culturally responsive and sustaining programs for school districts and companies.
Before Dr. Thompson Dorsey earned her Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Sociology of Education and Policy Studies, she was a practicing attorney in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, Dr. Thompson Dorsey was an Associate Professor and the Associate Director for the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh, an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Virginia.