MENTOR Nebraska Names Melissa Mayo as New Executive Director
MENTOR Nebraska’s (www.MENTORNebraska.org) Board of Directors announced on October 16 that Melissa Mayo has been appointed the new executive director of the nonprofit devoted to strengthening and advocating for youth mentoring in Nebraska. Mayo’s hiring comes with the retirement of her successor, Deborah Neary, who led the organization for more than 10 years.
“While Melissa has served as MENTOR Nebraska’s Interim Executive Director over the last three months, our organization and community have also had an opportunity to see her dedication, vision, and leadership in action over the past 20 years,” said MENTOR Nebraska’s Board President Chris Rodgers. “Melissa and the MENTOR Nebraska team have demonstrated innovation and collaboration through the pandemic and are positioned to continue our statewide expansion to support the mentoring movement. All of us at MENTOR Nebraska are thrilled to have Melissa lead us in this exciting stage of growth.”
Mayo previously served as the senior programming director at MENTOR Nebraska, where she led expansion efforts of Success Mentors and STRIVE refugee mentoring in several Nebraska school districts while supporting evaluation and operations functions for the organization. She has spent her career dedicated to youth through leadership roles at the United Way of the Midlands, Latino Center of the Midlands, Partnership 4 Kids, and Heartland Family Service. Mayo has a strong track record of diversifying funding support for programmatic growth, successfully implementing, and replicating youth development models serving system-impacted youth, leading multi-county initiatives, and collaborating with nonprofit organizations, school districts, government entities, and corporate partners to create purposeful community partnerships. She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska–Omaha.
MENTOR Nebraska is the unifying champion for quality youth mentoring in Nebraska. For 20 years, they have led the mentoring movement by supporting and collaborating with more than 200 mentoring programs across Nebraska. For more information, visit www.MENTORNebraska.org.