Meilssa Giroux

Melissa Giroux joined CAW as a program manager in fall 2021 to support program development and management structures as well as evaluation efforts. She began her career as a high school special education and humanities teacher with the New York City Teaching Fellows and developed a passion for building interdisciplinary, competency-based, and experiential curriculum. Her teaching experience was primarily in District 79 programs in the Bronx where she focused on supporting over-aged, under-credited youth in re-entering school and attaining their high school diplomas. When not teaching English classes, she loved to engage her students in debate, community service, and other extracurricular projects.

While working at Citizen Schools as a Campus Director in Bedford Stuyvesant, she managed volunteer programs that pair AmeriCorps service members with corporate volunteers to teach hands-on apprenticeships. As the Customer Success Lead at Kiddom education technology company, she led research and evaluation efforts on behalf of the product development teams, as well as creating training and professional development modules for schools around the country. While working at the CUNY Early College Initiative she managed partnerships between CUNY campuses, New York City High Schools, and local industry partners in developing braided early college and work-based learning experiences for students at 21 schools across the five boroughs.

She holds a BA in Journalism and Public Policy from Syracuse University and graduated with a Master’s degree in Urban Policy and Leadership with a concentration in education policy from Hunter College in 2020. She is passionate about New York City history, vintage clothes, and her cat, The Chairman.