Chantelle Thompson

Chantelle Thompson
Chief of Staff and Chief Communications Officer

Chantelle Thompson serves as Chief of Staff (CoS) for Student Affairs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the flagship institution of the University of Illinois system. In this role, Thompson acts as key strategist and advisor to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, serving as a member of the Vice Chancellors’ Senior Leadership Team, and represents the Vice Chancellor and Student Affairs on any matter of interest to the Vice Chancellor, including policy, programs, budget, personnel, and community and legislative relations. Thompson also serves as the Chief Communications Officer for the division acting as point of contact between university executive leadership, board of trustees, government relations, and other internal and external stakeholders.

Thompson is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, and currently serves as a board member for Homer Community Library.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University with a focus on technical communications, a Master of Education, Policy and Organizational Leadership degree with an additional concentration in Human Resource Development from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Thompson brings more than 20 years of experience leading in roles across multiple functions from her time at higher education institutions, B2B, and B2C firms, both domestically and internationally. She is a natural networker who understands the importance of aligning people across all levels of an organization to accomplish their most important priorities.