Spotlight: Nina Morel, Dean of the College of Professional Studies, Lipscomb University

1 - Where are you from, and how did you choose to live in Middle Tennessee?

I grew up in Nashville (yes, a rare native Nashvillian!) and graduated from Hillsboro High School and Lipscomb University and lived in Green Hills most of my life. It has changed a lot, but I still love this community.

2 - What is your professional background, and why did you become a coach?

I have been a teacher, professor, and education leader most of my career. I have always been interested in professional development (my dissertation studied the use of technology in professional development) and as a school district administrator I was trained as an instructional coach. I was asked to create and lead a countywide instructional coaching initiative and our search for resources that were largely unavailable at the time led me and a colleague (Carla Cushman) to write a book on developing coaching programs. I came to Lipscomb soon after to create a masters program in instructional coaching and then moved to the College of Professional Studies where we created an ICF-accredited ACTP master’s program in coaching. I was entranced by coaching because it is the only method of professional development I have found that that supports active implementation of learning. It is also an important part of our online competency-based undergraduate programs that my College has created.

3 - How did you choose your specialty area?

I am a teacher and a higher education administrator—so coaching educators and others in higher education is a natural fit. I also coach school leaders and public administration leaders, as well as individuals in non-profits who work directly for boards.

4 - What are the greatest challenges and greatest rewards of your career?

I love program creation and implementation—this is most rewarding. The greatest challenge is prioritizing all the great opportunities that come my way in the areas of coaching, leadership, and competency-based education.

5 - What is something that most ICFTN members would be surprised to learn about you?

I don’t know if there are many surprises here—pretty much what you see is what you get!

6 - How do you enjoy spending your free time?

I love to read fiction and non-fiction leadership books. I also really enjoy travelling with my husband all over the US and abroad, with usually at least one international trip a year. In the last 5 years, I have travelled to Chile (twice), Bali, Singapore, France, England (3 times), Italy, and Denmark. Of course, the best thing to do with my free time is play with my 4 year old and 1 year old grandsons!

Nina Morel