Dr. Melita Pope Mitchell is a veteran educator and servant leader dedicated to transforming her community. Originally from Gary, Indiana, and a proud product of the Gary Community School Corporation, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in African American World Studies from the University of Iowa and a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan. Dr. Mitchell completed her Doctor of Education in Adult and Community College Education from North Carolina State University. As a doctoral student, she was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and Golden Key International Honor Society. Dr. Mitchell was selected as a Class of 2020 ECMC Foundation Postsecondary CTE Research Fellow, where she researched middle school students’ perceptions of postsecondary career and technical education (CTE). Throughout her quarter-century career in higher education, she has held student and academic affairs positions at the University of Michigan, University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Johnson C. Smith University. She has worked with traditional and non-traditional students in various university environments. Her experiences as a student and an educator developed her passion for advocating for adults and underrepresented populations in higher education. Dr. Mitchell is the associate vice president of Academic Affairs at Johnson C. Smith University, the only historically Black university in Charlotte, North Carolina, founded in 1867. In this capacity, she oversees educational partnerships, Global Education and Engagement, the Honors Program, Liberal Studies, Continuing, Online, Adult, and Professional Education, as well as other student matters. Before her appointment, she served as interim dean of the Metropolitan College of Professional Studies, assistant dean and director of evening and Online Programs, and the university’s first graduate school coordinator. She is a member of the Association for the Study of Career and Technical Education, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and the American Educational Research Association. A dedicated alumna of the University of Iowa, she has served on the University of Iowa Alumni Association Board of Directors, the University of Iowa Foundation Alumni Leadership Council and founded the Iowa Black Alumni Network in 2009. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Union County Chamber and is a Community Shelter of Union County board member. As a Diamond Life Member, she has served in elected and appointed local, regional, and national positions in her beloved sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Dr. Mitchell has also been recognized by the Charlotte Weekly as 100 Power Women of Union County and one of 21 Influential African American Leaders in Union County, NC by the Union County Weekly. A loyalist to those institutions that poured into her growth, she continues to give back to her community and former educational institutions through various service initiatives.