Melissa Miller Kincart,
Senior Consultant 

Melissa is a proven higher and K12 education leader with 28 years of professional experience leading systemic change by implementing college, school district, state, and national strategic initiatives to improve student college readiness, access, and success. She has expertise in creating and implementing:

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• College awareness and career-connected learning programs.

• Student retention and completion strategies.

• Education business partnerships. 

• Professional development resources for college and school counselors. 

 

Melissa began her professional career in student recruitment at the University of Utah. She then worked in college admissions at Johns Hopkins and American Universities, as well student affairs offices at both University of Maryland and Utah State University (USU), where she was named as the Lee-Noel and Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Winner for her transformational work in student success. 
 

While serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Outreach & Access for the Utah State Board of Regents, she implemented the statewide college access network and Utah College Application Week. Along with Dr. Bailey, she was a featured Panelist for the White House College Opportunity Summit at Harvard University. She also assisted the creation of legislation and funding support to improve college and career training for school counselors, of which College Futures' Go Alliance Academy was a key resource.
 

As the Director of Strategic Partnerships and College and Career Readiness for Rapid City Area Schools in South Dakota, she led the creation of the district’s college and career academies, increased high school graduation requirements, and launched district-wide business partnerships. She also led adoption of the ASCA National Model for school counseling and facilitated the use of the Go Alliance Academy to deepen and expand counselor college and career professional learning. 
 

Melissa currently works with school district administrators, high school principals, school counselors, and college advisors in the United States and Canada in her role as the Vice President of High School Partnerships for NextGrad, where she has expanded their student recruitment network to 500+ schools in 25+ states and provinces. 
 

Melissa has an MA degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in Higher Education Leadership and Policy, and a BS degree in Finance from the University of Utah. She lives with her husband in Upstate New York and is the mother of two children.