{"id":2,"date":"2026-04-12T22:40:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T22:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melgilbert.com\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-04-13T04:56:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:56:40","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Home | Mel Gilbert, Learning Operations Strategist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull wp-duotone-unset-1\" style=\"min-height:539px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"750\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-71 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hero-1.png\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hero-1.png 1080w, https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hero-1-300x208.png 300w, https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hero-1-1024x711.png 1024w, https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hero-1-768x533.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-ast-global-color-5-background-color has-background-dim-80 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-2f43060d2553263dd80157ac4037cd03\" style=\"color:#3a606e\"><strong>Your school is growing. <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9b056b63094b8d3854a64516059b6191\" style=\"color:#3a606e\"><strong>Your systems aren&#8217;t.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80)\">You built something real \u2014 a holistic practitioner certification program with standards to uphold, students who need genuine support, and a team that&#8217;s doing their best. But you&#8217;re still the one holding it all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80)\">I help founder-led, healing arts-focused online schools build the operational infrastructure and student experience that helps them grow \u2014 without the founder becoming the bottleneck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/mel-melgilbert\/30min\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Let&#8217;s talk about your school<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking like a school isn&#8217;t the same as operating like one.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe you hired someone to build your courses in Kajabi or Teachable. Maybe you&#8217;ve added AI-generated content to keep up. And your organization <em>looks <\/em>like a school from the outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But your students are still getting lost. They&#8217;re not logging in as often as you hoped. Your community (you have a student community, right?) either feels quieter than it should, or students are left to help each other out because you can&#8217;t respond to every thread. Your inbox is still full. And your team still comes to you for <em>everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>None of this is a &#8220;you&#8221; problem; it&#8217;s a systems problem. And it&#8217;s not your fault. Nobody teaches practitioners \u2014 or even expert educators  \u2014 how to run an online learning institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference between a course and a school isn&#8217;t the platform. It&#8217;s the infrastructure behind it: the workflows, the student journey, and the team processes that make learning happen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#eceee8\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>I&#8217;ve transformed schools like yours from the inside.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not a business coach, a marketing consultant, or a web designer who builds courses on the side. I&#8217;m a <strong>learning operations strategist<\/strong>: an online education expert who looks at your school as a complete system and builds the infrastructure that makes it actually work for your students, your team, and you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I evaluate online programs for <strong>effective, efficient, and research-based learning<\/strong>, not just aesthetics. I&#8217;ve created my own framework for diagnosing and solving where learner experience and operational systems are out of sync \u2014 because in my experience, they almost always are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s just some of what that&#8217;s looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d2da2050 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-bottom:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column has-ast-global-color-5-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-51048dd8146e378f6f0305a80562dd07 is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"color:#000000;padding-top:2em;padding-right:2em;padding-bottom:2em;padding-left:2em\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5e48f0fc8d27d427a30e44002f5d62ec\" id=\"single\" style=\"color:#3a606e;font-size:40px\"><strong>35<\/strong>%<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p data-wp-context---core-fit-text=\"core\/fit-text::{&quot;fontSize&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-wp-init---core-fit-text=\"core\/fit-text::callbacks.init\" data-wp-interactive data-wp-style--font-size=\"core\/fit-text::context.fontSize\" class=\"has-fit-text has-text-color has-link-color has-normal-font-size wp-elements-2c20da4540cb05aa03ac8e5475640a2d\" style=\"color:#3a606e;line-height:1.5\"><strong>reduction in support tickets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#828e82;color:#828e82\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>by fixing the onboarding experience and building an automated workflow<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignfull is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-03627597 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column has-ast-global-color-5-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-d8e35d0001a7e26cc9d959492534654d is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"color:#000000;padding-top:2em;padding-right:2em;padding-bottom:2em;padding-left:2em\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-304aeac8f2750e39a5bfa546e45eb174\" id=\"family\" style=\"color:#3a606e;font-size:40px\"><strong>10,000<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p data-wp-context---core-fit-text=\"core\/fit-text::{&quot;fontSize&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-wp-init---core-fit-text=\"core\/fit-text::callbacks.init\" data-wp-interactive data-wp-style--font-size=\"core\/fit-text::context.fontSize\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-fit-text has-text-color has-link-color has-normal-font-size wp-elements-fc1276c093befbe3b6fafaac5cde1975\" style=\"color:#3a606e;line-height:1.5\"><strong>member student community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#828e82;color:#828e82\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>by transforming a quiet forum into a primary enrollment and engagement driver<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignfull is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-03627597 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column has-ast-global-color-5-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-e21436e29a2664a8206f16c62657f478 is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"color:#000000;padding-top:2em;padding-right:2em;padding-bottom:2em;padding-left:2em\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8421f2955e8a72ad15c6f4bac0f8143b\" id=\"patron\" style=\"color:#3a606e;font-size:40px\"><strong>10<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p data-wp-context---core-fit-text=\"core\/fit-text::{&quot;fontSize&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-wp-init---core-fit-text=\"core\/fit-text::callbacks.init\" data-wp-interactive data-wp-style--font-size=\"core\/fit-text::context.fontSize\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-fit-text has-text-color has-link-color has-normal-font-size wp-elements-7c51d34337b39ac829f5ca524e341ed2\" style=\"color:#3a606e\"><strong>certification programs launched<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#828e82;color:#828e82\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>by transitioning from correspondence courses to fully online delivery<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignfull is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-03627597 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Not sure where to start? Let&#8217;s chat.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first step isn&#8217;t a big commitment. It&#8217;s a conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a free 30-minute call, we&#8217;ll talk about where your school is right now, where you&#8217;re trying to go, and what&#8217;s getting in the way. You&#8217;ll leave with at least one clear idea of what to tackle first, whether we work together or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If my knowledge is a fit, I offer a focused service that gives you a complete operational picture of your school and a prioritized map of exactly what to do next. Most founders tell me it&#8217;s the first time someone has looked at their school as a whole system rather than a collection of unrelated problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/mel-melgilbert\/30min\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Book a free 30-minute call<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#eceee8\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Mel<\/strong> Gilbert<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-constrained wp-block-column-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"536\" height=\"670\" src=\"http:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mel-Gilbert-4.5.jpg\" alt=\"Closeup photo of a person wearing a black collared shirt, with short hair, wearing eyeglasses, and smiling at the camera. \" class=\"wp-image-42\" srcset=\"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mel-Gilbert-4.5.jpg 536w, https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mel-Gilbert-4.5-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 536px) 100vw, 536px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>I came to learning operations the way most people do: sideways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I started as a holistic health practitioner and instructor at a well-known online institute. I understood the learner&#8217;s experience because I&#8217;d lived it. And when I saw the gap between what these schools <strong>promised <\/strong>their students and what their teams and systems could actually <strong>deliver<\/strong>, I wanted to do something about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I spent years inside online holistic health schools doing the work nobody had a title for: building the systems, fixing the workflows, making the student experience actually match the school&#8217;s values. Eventually I realized this was its own discipline. So I made it mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am a certified Quality Matters online course reviewer, a certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt in process improvement, and I hold graduate certificates in online learning administration and instructional design. I&#8217;m completing my Master of Science in Education, Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University Bloomington. I created the ALIGN Framework\u2122, a model for connecting learner experience with operational sustainability in online schools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-text-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"font-size:17px;line-height:.9\"><strong>GET IN TOUCH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"schedule-a-visit\" style=\"line-height:1.15\"><strong>Ready to scale up? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">I work with founders who have built something solid and successful, and who are ready for the infrastructure to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/mel-melgilbert\/30min\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Book a free 30-minute call<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking like a school isn&#8217;t the same as operating like one. Maybe you hired someone to build your courses in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":75,"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144,"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melgilbert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}