Kate Thompson, LMSW is the Senior Administrative Program Coordinator for the Autism Consortium of Texas Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (ACT LEND) program. Kate received her Master of Science in Social Work with a concentration in Administration and Policy Practice and a portfolio in Nonprofit Studies at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Social Work and a minor in Psychology from Texas State University. While a graduate student, Kate was in the BRIDGE scholars program studying transition skills for teens and young adults with autism and related disabilities. She was also the NASW/Texas MSW Board Representative, and the MSW recipient of the statewide Andrew Marks Student Advocacy Award for her work advocating for the reinstatement of disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation protections in the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners Code of Conduct.
Kate is currently the NASW/Texas Delegate for Human Rights and was recently appointed to the Council on Disability and Persons with Disabilities within the Council on Social Work Education. She is an Alumni Editor and founding member of “Louder Than Words,” a peer-reviewed journal for students at Texas State University School of Social Work, and is a frequent peer reviewer for external grants and journal submissions related to disabilities. Originally from New England and upstate New York, she brings over a decade of experience in corporate, nonprofit, and freelance administrative work. Kate and her husband, Matt, have a blended family with three teenagers with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and two dogs.