DF Trustee App: Nicco Mele

From Tribewanted

Application For Role of Trustee: Nicco Mele

A. Occupation

Name of current or most recent employer:

EchoDitto.com

Founder & President

March 2004 to present

Please summarise the main duties and responsibilities in your current or most recent job:

As the founder and president of EchoDitto.com, I oversee all elements of a multi-million dollar company, from bookkeeping to hiring to project management. A critical element of my job is positioning the company in the market place and working intimately with our largest clients, many of whom are large foundations and charities.

B. Education and Training

a) Secondary education OR further and/or higher education, giving most recent qualification first

School/College/University/	Qualification and subjects(s)	Level	Grade	Year obtained
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia	Bachelor Degree in Government			1999

b) Qualification(s) currently being undertaken

Institution/Provider	Qualification/level	Subject(s)	Exam/finish date
(none)

c) Relevant Training and Non-Qualification Courses Attended

d) Membership of Professional Body(ies)/Professional Qualification(s)
(If more than one, please list all)

Name of Professional Body(ies)	Qualification(s)	Membership level	Registration No.	Date obtained
(none)

C. Additional Information in Support of your Application

1. Have you read and understood the following document published by the Charities Commission: [1]

YES

2. Please outline any experience you may have of working with a charity:

I currently sit on the board of three charitable institutions: Walmart Watch (an advocacy group that is critical of Wal-Mart – walmartwatch.com), the Lower East Side Girls Club (an organization dedicated to encouraging girls from low-income families in New York City to learn about technology, sustainability, and entrepreneurship – girlsclub.org), and MyProxyAdvisor (a recently started, foundation funded non-profit dedicated to holding publicly traded corporations accountable for their actions).

Additionally, my company works primarily with non-profit organizations around their internet strategy. We have worked closely with some of the largest charities in the world, including the UN World Food Programme, the Clinton Foundation, the UN Foundation, and SEIU (the largest union in the United States). I have worked intimately with all aspects of charitable organizations, from the board level to the day-to-day operational level. I have worked with non-profits internationally (in Europe, India, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa) as well as domestically within the United States.

Prior to starting my company, I worked as a staff person at two large US-based non-profits: Common Cause (commoncause.org) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (iavi.org). My official bio (below) details my political work experience and personal background:

Born in West Africa to foreign service parents, Nicco Mele is the founder and president of EchoDitto, an internet strategy firm internationally recognized for its cutting edge work with non-profits, political candidates, and corporations. Prior to starting EchoDitto, Nicco was Governor Howard Dean's US presidential campaign webmaster and internet operations director. As part of Gov. Dean's presidential campaign, Nicco managed the technical, functional and design aspects of Gov. Dean's national web presence. In December of 2003, he was named one of America 's "best and brightest" by Esquire magazine. In addition to his day job, Nicco teaches in the Johns Hopkins University graduate communications program and has presented for Harvard University's Berkman Center and John F. Kennedy School of Government. Nicco's podcasts from Mayan archaeological digs in southern Mexico are an internet favorite: http://radio.echoditto.com/junglecast/

3. Give an account of any specialist or transferable skills you may have which would be relevant to the role of TWDF Trustee?
(e.g. PR/marketing, fundraising, accountancy, legal, HR, project management, specific connections with Fiji etc)

My skill set uniquely qualifies me for the role as a trustee of TribeWanted. As an entrepreneur who has built a multi-million dollar company from scratch, I have extensive experience with accounting, hiring, legal issues, and project management. The company I founded (EchoDitto.com) is known for developing successful internet strategy for non-profits, including project managing technical implementations and advising multi-million dollar non-profit fundraising campaigns. Additionally, through my political experience and corporate clients, I have dealt directly with journalists from many major publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and CNN. I am considered an expert in online marketing, especially in the field of emerging media. But perhaps my most important qualification is my experience raising money from “small dollar” donors, major donors (including corporations) and foundations. Working with my clients and with other charities I care about, I have helped raise millions of dollars for world-changing work.

4. What experience, if any, do you have of serving on a committee?

I currently sit on the board of three charitable institutions: Walmart Watch (an advocacy group that is critical of Wal-Mart – walmartwatch.com), the Lower East Side Girls Club (an organization dedicated to encouraging girls from low-income families in New York City to learn about technology, sustainability, and entrepreneurship – girlsclub.org), and MyProxyAdvisor (a recently started, foundation funded non-profit dedicated to holding publicly traded corporations accountable for their actions). In my role with all three institutions, I have sat on numerous committees, dealing with everything from accounting and legal issues to technology and fundraising.

5. What do you think will be the priorities for the TWDF Trustees in the next 6 months?

Clearly, fundraising is and will remain a priority for the immediate future. There is amazing work to be done with TribeWanted, but building a reputation and track record with institutional donors is the single most important role that a TWDF Trustee can play for the next 6 months. Institutional donors will ensure that TWDF has a steady stream of funding into the distant future – and allow TWDF to undertake more ambitious projects.

6. Have you been to Fiji/do you plan on going in the next few years? Please give details:

I am about to wed the love of my life – and our plans for a delayed honeymoon are to visit Vovoro within the next 12 months!

Would you be willing/able to carry out any relevant TWDF work while there?

Yes

7. If you are UK based, will you be able to attend meetings four times a year with the other Trustees and the occasional training day? (reasonable travel expenses will be paid):

I am not UK based but available for travel to attend meetings and trainings as appropriate.

8. Please give any further details you think are relevant to your application:

My work history and skills offer a unique cross-section of charitable fundraising, corporate management, international experience, technical experience (especially in the open-source community), and more that I hope can help TWDF. I believe that the vision of TribeWanted is critical towards building a better world for the future – and my passion is for world-changing work.