Dr. Salazar is the founder and CEO of ESCALA Educational Services Inc., a small, minority and woman-owned business based in Española, New Mexico. A graduate of the University of California system (UC Berkeley and UC Davis) Dr. Salazar worked for 15 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento area as a math and science K-12 and college instructor, curriculum designer and grant writer before completing her Ph.D. in Education and moving to New Mexico to be closer to family.
New Mexican colleagues introduced Dr. Salazar to the world of Hispanic Serving Institutions, and opened her eyes to the specific needs and strengths these institutions have. In 2014 she quit her job as an instructional coach and launched ESCALA Educational Services Inc. in 2014, based on the hunch that HSI faculty would want to come together and discuss the craft of teaching minoritized students. She tapped her colleague Cathy Martinez Berryhill to create a comprehensive professional development program for HSI faculty, using an asset-based lens and brain based learning strategies. These two ideas became the foundation of ESCALA’s curriculum for the 27 hour course, the ESCALA Certificate in College Teaching & Learning in HSIs. Now in its 6th year, over 150 HSI faculty from 15 HSIs will attend ESCALA’s CTL in HSIs program.
Still led by Dr. Melissa L. Salazar the ESCALA team has grown from an idea to a vibrant and socially conscious business that now employs 4 people (all from northern New Mexico) as well as over 50 peer faculty coaches from HSIs across the U.S.
