The Tribune

RACQUEL Thompson-Elliott has been awarded her doctorate in Business Administration specialising in Finance at Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

After gaining 25 years experience in the travel and hospitality industry, Dr Thompson-Elliott resumed her academic career in 2008 at Strayer University and in 2012 took leave from her job as Academic Assistant to the Fort Lauderdale Campus Dean to pursue her doctoral studies at Walden and raise her two children, Serena and Marco.

As a Business Professor at Strayer University, she is committed to empowering individuals to pursue business ownership. She continues to educate business owners and managers about the resources available to support business growth and sustainability.

Dr Thompson-Elliott is enthusiastic about contributing her practical, real-world experience when teaching business management theory and providing insight and applied knowledge to business students. Her experience, aligned with her doctoral study, “A Qualitative Study of the Growth Strategies of Mature Small Businesses”, which is published in the Scholarly Works Journal, allows her to bring that knowledge to her endeavours.

Dr Thompson-Elliott was born in Freeport, Grand Bahama, to the late Irma Rita Kirton-Thompson, an entertainer, executive secretary and author, and Paul R Thompson, former Assistant Commissioner of Police, author and owner and president of Paul Thompson and Associates security firm.

Dr Thompson-Elliott attended St Paul’s Methodist College, Freeport, from 1973 to 1986, spending childhood summers in Trinidad and Tobago from where her parents hailed. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Business Administration concentrating in Economics at St Leo University, Florida. She continued to a Masters in Business Administration (Honours Class, Valedictorian) concentrating in International Business at Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida.

She spent 25 years in the travel and hospitality industry as a Marketing Director and at a financial investment international law firm, Greenberg Traurig, as a Securities Administrator.

In 2008, Dr Thompson-Elliott joined Strayer University, where she met her husband, Professor Dwight T Elliott, who, born in Jamaica, earned his Juris Doctorate at University of Maryland after gaining a Masters in Information Technology at Syracuse University.

Her management experience and leadership skills supported her entrepreneurial pursuit as an Executive Director and part-owner of Trinity Home Care Facility Inc, founded by her mother-in-law, Pastor Georgia P Thomson-Elliott, of Jamaica.