Dame Patricia Mary Harrison DNZM QSO (née Thomson; born 6 September 1932) is a New Zealand educationalist.
Born in Dunedin on 6 September 1932, Harrison was educated at Otago Girls' High School from 1946 to 1950.
[1][2] She went on to study at Dunedin Teachers' College and the University of Otago, graduating with Master of Arts with second-class honours in 1957.
[1] In 1955, Harrison's first teaching post was at Queen's High School, Dunedin, where she became interested in students with special needs.
[4][5] Since her retirement, Harrison has continued working with young people in Dunedin, helping the vulnerable and those who drop out of formal education, through programmes run by various community organisations including the Otago Youth Wellness Trust, which she founded in 1996.