Kenzie Academy from Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), recognized as an industry leader in coding programming and courses, has announced Melissa Paciulli, MSCE, as the new Executive Director. Paciulli comes to Kenzie Academy from SNHU with more than 23 years of experience in higher education administration, recruitment and retention, strategic partnership building, and student engagement. In addition, she is a leader in her engineering field, where she researches teens with ADHD and has developed an augmented reality game for new drivers to learn how to drive safely. Paciulli’s involvement has spanned various management levels and engineering disciplines throughout her career. Paciulli worked as a principal investigator as part of a National Science Foundation five-year grant to create a micro-credentialing accelerated engineering certificate with stackable and transferable credits. These assets stay with and support students continuing their educational journey while connecting them with industry internships throughout their professional careers. As director of the Holyoke Community College STEM Starter Academy, Paciulli worked on a collaborative multimillion-dollar 10-year initiative funded by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education to recruit students into STEM. The much-lauded initiative aided students in finding success within the program by creatively implementing experiential learning programs, building strategic regional transfer partnerships, leveraging financial opportunities, and supporting students using a case management model.  Paciulli is a doctoral candidate in engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She also holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Math from Westfield State University. In addition, Paciulli is a National Academies of Science Transportation Board member, serving on several committees over the past 20 years. She is also an active member of the Society of Women Engineers, the Association for Women in Science, and WEPAN.  “I am honored to join the Kenzie Academy team as its new executive director and work with the entire team,” said Paciulli. “The opportunities Kenzie Academy from SNHU provides its students are inspiring, and I look forward to continuing to present opportunities, career paths, and the chance for people to live their dreams.”  For more information, please visit:https://kenzie.snhu.edu Source: Kenzie Academy