Michael Melcher
Michael Melcher is one of the nation’s leading executive coaches and a partner in the leadership firm, Next Step Partners. He’s worked with leaders at places like Google, Goldman Sachs and the Ford Foundation, and has coached individuals and teams in the United States and a dozen countries abroad, including China, Thailand, Myanmar, Tanzania, Trinidad, Mexico, El Salvador, Haiti, Canada, Ireland, the UK and Italy.
Michael’s work focuses on helping people be capable leaders while also being authentic and having the lives they want. He is particularly focused on helping first-generation achievers and people from underrepresented backgrounds achieve meaningful career success.
He has nearly two decades experience coaching, developing leadership programs, and training other coaches. Prior to entering coaching, he worked as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, as an attorney with Davis Polk & Wardwell, and as a start-up entrepreneur. He’s the author of The Creative Lawyer: A Practical Guide to Authentic Professional Satisfaction (Second Edition, American Bar Association 2014) and numerous articles.
He attended public schools before earning a BA from Harvard and a JD/MBA from Stanford. He is a proud gay dad with identical twin sons, Nicolas and Mateo, and lives in New York City.
“The things you would do when you are looking for a job are the same things you should be doing all the time to nourish your career.”
— Michael Melcher