Melissa Mel Nichols

About Melissa Mel Nichols

Every child deserves a world-class education built around who they actually are. I\'ve spent over a decade figuring out how to make that scalable. I joined what would become Pacific Preparatory when it was still a local SF Bay Area tutoring company. I started as Tutor Services Manager, recruiting exceptional teachers and eventually supporting the accreditation process that transformed a tutoring operation into a nationally recognized K-12 virtual private school, and growing into COO as the organization evolved. I didn\'t inherit this organization. I helped build it. My foundation before Pacific Preparatory was in the classroom: TFA corps member, founding teacher in Sacramento where I moved student proficiency from 10% to 73% in a single year, English department chair at KIPP, and instructional coach at Breakthrough Collaborative. I\'ve never stopped being a teacher. I just operate at a different scale now. I also homeschool my own daughters, designing their curriculum the same way I\'ve spent a decade designing education for hundreds of families. Around who they actually are and not around a system that was never built with them in mind. What I think about constantly- How education brands make people feel something, and how to close the gap between what an organization believes and what the world actually sees- How to build teams where people are genuinely excited on Monday morning and developed so completely that their growth extends far beyond the organization they\'re in - What makes a curriculum actually work; the blend of rigor and resonance, institutional standards that don\'t crush curiosity, and content that meets a child exactly where they are while pulling them toward who they\'re becoming - How to use AI as leverage that scales the work without stripping out the humanity that makes it matter Fifteen years in education taught me that the most important thing you can do-for a child, for an organization, for yourself-is tell the truth about what you see and then do something about it.

Experience

1. Chief Operating Officer

   Pacific Preparatory

   Mar 2020 — Present

   Assumed COO leadership of an organization I helped build, overseeing full daily operations, strategic planning, and a full-time team of 8+ across admissions, academic operations, curriculum, outreach, and student support.Led the organization through its most significant period of revenue growth, scaling systems, team infrastructure, and academic delivery simultaneously across all K-12 grade bands.Built and maintained a team culture where people grow both professionally and personally, and bring their best to students and families every day.Led organizational positioning, deepened institutional standards, and built the operational foundation that delivers an exceptional and deeply personalized experience at scale.

Education

• Western Michigan University

  Bachelor of Arts, Secondary English Education (Major), Political Science (Minor)

  2008 — 2012

Skills

• Microsoft Office
• Teaching
• Staff Development
• Social Media
• Classroom
• Nonprofits
• Student Affairs
• Curriculum Design
• Classroom Instruction
• Non-Profits
• Corporate Events
• Research
• Educational Leadership
• Classroom Management
• Volunteering
• Curriculum Development
• Event Planning
• Event Management
• Corporate Communications
• Public Speaking
• Volunteer Management
• Editing
• Theatre
• Volunteer Recruiting
• Creative Writing
• Community Outreach