Dr. Nicole Melander brings to the ATD board of directors her deep experience in analytics, operations, innovation, and technology within multi-national software companies, coupled with the ability to leverage colleges’ data and application ecosystems to develop insight, identify opportunities, and enable institutional improvement.
Over her career Dr. Melander has held leadership positions in a number of learning corporations and institutions, including her current role as vice president, Global Education Services, Anthology. Dr. Melander served as a faculty member of the Next Generation Leadership Academy (NGLA), a program dedicated to grounding rising educational leaders in current issues and innovations. During her time with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, she worked closely with every functional area of the company to transform the learning experience through strategic digital innovation and a superb customer experience.
Dr. Melander’s full-time teaching experience in the classroom, online, and in a blended environment, kept her focused on the learning transformation that her work enables. In 2008, students and faculty at American University selected her to receive the campus wide “Teaching with Technology” award for faculty who have demonstrated creativity in using technology in their teaching. In 2010, West Chester University of Pennsylvania presented Dr. Melander with the Distinguished Alumni Award for her positive impact.
Education
Ph.D. (Information Technology) | George Mason University
M.S. (Technical Management) | Johns Hopkins University
B.S. (Computer Science) | West Chester University
Past Experience
Vice President, Global Education Services | Anthology (formerly Campus Labs)
Vice President, Strategic Consulting | Civitas Learning
Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Chief Technology Officer | Achieving the Dream, Inc.
How has education changed your life/your family?
When I was in 8th grade, I took the bus to high school so I could take a class called “Computer Math.” That single class was the inspiration for my pursuit of a technology undergraduate degree — at a time when few women considered STEM careers. This choice resulted in internships at IBM and Burroughs which opened the door to everything that followed. My professional success, accomplishments, and happiness are intimately connected to my education.