Chief Development Officer
Chad Nichols currently serves as the Chief Development Officer of Sight Savers America (SSA). He has previously served SSA in other leadership capacities including Chief Operating Officer as well as Vice President of the SSA KidCheck Plus program.
Before joining Sight Savers America in 2011, Chad worked for Governor Bob Riley for eight years and served in numerous leadership roles. He worked in the Policy Office, the Legislative Office, and led several special projects for the Governor. He served as Executive Director of Governor Bob Riley”s Alabama Rural Action Commission, an statewide office established to improve health, education, and economic development. He began the KidCheck school-based health screening program in 2008 and it was named Alabama’s Most Innovative Program by the AUM Center for Government in 2009.
Chad was named Health Care Advocate of the Year in 2009 by the Birmingham Business Journal. In 2010, the Birmingham Business Journal selected him as one of Birmingham’s “Top 40 Under 40”. Chad received an award from the AUM Center for Government in 2006 for his work as a Public Manager.
Chad was the first President of the UAB School of Business Alumni Chapter and he was a Board Member for the UAB National Alumni Society’s Junior Board. He is a graduate of the Delta Regional Authority”s year-long Leadership Institute and he served as Chairman of the Delta Regional Authority Leadership Network Board of Directors. In 2017, he was awarded a Certificate of Completion for the 21st Century: Delta Leadership Institute Program from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Executive Education. He graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Finance and received a Masters in Business Administration from UAB.