The Townsend Institute’s MA in Executive Coaching and Consultation program recently received accreditation from the International Coaching Federation (ICF), considered the gold standard in the executive coaching world.
“To be accredited by the ICF, the global standard for coaching, means our program is at the highest level,” says Michelle Thompson, the new director of the program. “We offer way above and beyond what any other coaching and consultation program offers right now. It’s huge to have this.”
The program is also celebrating the installation of Thompson, an experienced coach and organizational expert, as its director. Thompson, an LCMS pastor’s kid and a graduate of Concordia University Chicago (formerly Concordia River Forest), brings a wealth of experience from multiple industries, including for-profit companies, non-profit companies, and churches. She worked in Lutheran churches in San Antonio, St. Louis and Houston before spending three years in the oil and gas industry, and six years as vice president of leadership transformation for the YMCA of Greater Houston.
Much of Thompson’s own passion and preparation for these roles came from participating in John Townsend’s workshops and coaching groups.
“My coaching experiences with the Townsend Group, and having the right people coaching and mentoring me, helped me learn to do this,” Thompson says. “I’m super excited to be working with Dr. Townsend and collaborating with him on this work. It’s been fun to say, ‘You were kind of a model for me, then a mentor for me, and now we're colleagues and friends.’ That’s a cool journey to be on.”
Thompson started her coaching career in Lutheran churches, then stepped into a role in the oil and gas industry, leading a team training fieldworkers in a "large piece of iron" called a blowout preventer.
“It was weird and thrilling, going out on an oil rig,” she says. “They needed someone to come in, organize, strengthen systems, and build so the team could grow larger and handle more work.”
By developing the employees as leaders and organizing their efforts, Thompson helped the crew double its capacity in six months. “I didn’t need to know much about blowout preventers,” Thompson says. “It was about organizing and leading a team, and developing them as young leaders.”
Around ten years ago, Thompson was visiting family near Irvine when she decided to come to the CUI campus and sit in Good Shepherd Chapel for a while. She prayed what she now calls “haphazard prayers to God” and said to him, “If you ever see a reason for me to serve here, I would consider that.”
“That was it,” she remembers. “Never in a million years was I going to be in higher education, so I find it really interesting that it’s through this leadership experience that I find myself in this place. It’s fun for me to come back around. It’s an honor and a blessing to come back to this space and be a called Lutheran worker again, at Concordia Irvine. I feel very called and led.”
As a coach and organizational consultant, Thompson is proudest to help people step into leadership roles and excel beyond their expectations. She also has earned master’s degrees in children’s and family ministry, and in organizational leadership.
Thompson says executive coaching is one of the fastest-growing industries in the country, and as an ICF-accredited program, CUI’s program maintains the highest level of educational rigor and the latest in research-supported, practical applications.
Dean Mike Shurance calls Thompson “a visionary leader who will help us grow our Executive Coaching and Consultation program in the coming years.”
“Not only is she a capable administrator, but she is also an innovative practitioner-educator,” Shurance says. “Her heart as a teacher is matched by her skills in the marketplace. She knows what it takes to lead organizations, coach high-powered executives and train others to do the same. We are grateful that the Lord has called her to serve in the Townsend Institute at Concordia University Irvine.”