Melissa Golden is a dedicated nonprofit operations professional with a passion for connecting people across cultures. As Director of Operations at VIA Programs, she enjoys leveraging her international experience and technical expertise to create strong operational foundations that support transformative learning experiences.

Melissa worked as an elementary and junior high school Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) for the city of Akabira, Hokkaido, for five years through the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program. While on JET, she also directed the Hokkaido Association for JET (HAJET) English musical theater productions for three years.

Melissa has served as President of the JET Alumni Association of Northern California (JETAANC) since 2020 and lives in the Monterey Bay area.