Mission Viejo Nadadores names an Executive Director – Michele Mitchell, Ph.D.

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by USA Diving

Mission Viejo, California,October 18, 2021 –Michele Mitchell, Ph.D. has been named Executive Director of the Mission Viejo Nadadores Foundation and will manage the entire organization, both swimming and diving.  Mitchell, a two-time Olympic Silver medalist diver (1984 & 1988), will begin her new role with the organization in January 2022.

Mitchell was hired as the Nadadores Head Diving Coach in 2017. This summer, under her leadership, Mission Viejo won its first national team diving title in 18 years. Dive team membership has grown by 300%. She is also responsible for hosting the 2018 USA Diving Grand Prix (the first time it was in the U.S. in seven years) along with numerous invitationals, regionals, zones, and the AAU Red/White/Blue Western nationals.  

“After an exhaustive search for the right leader to steer the Nadadores toward LA2028, we realized our new leader was right in our midst!  We are thrilled to move her into this new role. She is beloved and trusted by our community and a former Nadadore herself. She possesses a strong business sense of swimming and diving and has forged a close relationship with the City of Mission Viejo. She is a strong leader with a long history in aquatics,” said Andy Titus, current Chair of the Board of Directors.

Mitchell spent 22 years at the University of Arizona:  17 as Head Diving Coach and five working in athletic department administration. As a college coach she developed three Olympians, an NCAA Champion and numerous Pac 10 champions. Along with a Ph.D. she holds a master’s degree in Sports Administration. A former Chair of the Board of Directors of USA Diving, Mitchell has a global understanding of aquatic sports: age group to collegiate, as well as the international stage.

In response to her new role, Mitchell stated, “I am honored to have been selected as the Executive Director for the Nadadores. Since the grand re-opening in 2018, the program has returned to the prominence it once held in both swimming and diving.I want to continue the Nadadores' legacy as a top-notch organization in Mission Viejo, while engagingthe thousands of alumni and citizenry, all of whom have fond memories of this place. I invite the world to return to Mission Viejo.  This is a unique relationship between a city who understands the value of aquatics and a club with a long, storied, successful history. I am delighted to continue the work to move us forward toward 2028.”

 

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