Melissa Esten

Melissa Esten, MS has a diverse work experience spanning over a decade. Melissa served as the Director of Learning and Development at Goodwill Industries of San Diego County, where they successfully implemented a career pathway initiative resulting in a 46% increase in promotions and a 15% increase in revenue. Additionally, they led the development of a structured paid training program for job seekers with barriers to employment, enrolling and training over 90 trainees in the first year.

Prior to their role at Goodwill Industries, Melissa was the Learning and Development Manager at the same organization. In this role, they assessed employee and organizational needs, designed soft skill workshops, and delivered in-classroom leadership classes for over 100 supervisors and managers. Melissa also planned and designed curriculum to provide onsite workshops for employee development.

Melissa also worked as the Training Manager at Nonprofit Management Solutions, where they operated the NMS Training Institute. Their responsibilities included assessing the needs of nonprofit leaders, coordinating professional development programs, and facilitating management workshops.

Furthermore, Melissa has experience as a Co-Founder of Parent Voices for Education San Diego, an independent partnership of parents within the San Diego Unified School District. In this role, they recruited and led a volunteer parent leadership team and organized forums to engage parents in education discussions.

Overall, Melissa Esten, MS has a strong background in learning and development, with a focus on designing and implementing impactful training programs and engaging stakeholders to drive positive outcomes in various organizations.

Melissa Esten, MS has a Bachelor's degree in History from UC Santa Barbara. After completing their undergraduate studies, they pursued a Master's of Science degree in Organizational Performance from Bellevue University. In November 2020, Melissa obtained a DISC Certification from DISCcert Inc.