A native of Inkster, Michigan, Cynthia Thompson and her husband Ronald acquired Midwest Stamping, a manufacturer of automobile parts, in Northwest Ohio in 1993. She was the company’s co-owner and vice president of human resources. Prior to Midwest Stamping, Mrs. Thompson was a nutritionist and healthcare manager for the Community Health Board of Seattle. She then served as the Vice President of Human Resources for the GP Group before becoming Vice President of Human Resources at Midwest Stamping. Thompson has served on the boards of the St. Louis Science Center and the Missouri State Board of Education and was appointed to the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri System by then-governor John Ashcroft. She has also served as a trustee of the University of Toledo. Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in literature, science, and the arts from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and holds two master’s degrees, one in nutrition from Michigan State University and another in business administration from Washington University, St. Louis.