Mel Wade

My passion for leadership has been expressed in my career in many ways.

• Administrative experience in boarding academies, junior academies, and elementary schools including principalships, technology leadership, work coordinator, marketing, and administrative team experience.
• Restructuring of curriculum and academic policies. Redesigning the technology program at Blue Mountain Academy to provide access to resources and support learning and distance education.
• Teaching technology certification classes for teachers and providing technology tools for the classroom.
• Founding and running the Adventist Robotics League to provide teachers with new ways to expand STEM education in their classroom while incorporating life skills.
• Providing opportunities for students to experience a relationship with Jesus through personal experience and making a difference in the lives of others.

Missions have always been important to me. I was born in Africa to missionary parents and began my schooling in Haiti where I was the only American in my class. I remember seeing firsthand the dramatic effects of voodoo on a nation during the funeral procession of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, the dictator of Haiti. As a young adult, I spent a year teaching with my wife on a remote island in the Marshall Islands with no running water or electricity and later volunteered on the island of Guam where our son was born. I know the impact that missions can have on young people and want students to have that experience in their back yards and in other countries.

I grew up attending Adventist schools, both large and small. After returning to the states with my parents, I attended John Nevins Andrews Elementary School and Takoma Academy in Takoma Park, Maryland. Then, after a year of independent study, I attended and graduated from Weimar Academy. I was inspired by the dedication and passion of my Adventist teachers and chose a career in Adventist Education.

I have become passionate for Adventist Education and passionate to lead schools to be exceptional. Our schools need to be a place where a personal relationship with Jesus grounds the students and inspires them to tell others about our soon coming Savior. Our schools need to be a place where students learn practical skills and excel academically so they can become missionaries in corporate America, in private enterprise, and around the world.