As an executive recruiter with over 20 years of experience working with clients and professionals, Melissa has recruited, trained, and managed account/sales executives both domestically and internationally. Melissa has successfully built a network of professionals and companies that leverage data and information to solve difficult business challenges. These talented individuals and organizations are found in a variety of industries including survey/social sciences, data analytics, economic litigation, and market research. Most of Melissa's retained searches involve working with complex company needs and identifying talent who possess advanced degrees (MS or PhD).

While in Guatemala (92-97), Melissa was asked to develop a three day workshop series for Peace Corps Close of Service conferences. Based on her years of experience in talent acquisition, these series were designed to efficiently guide volunteers through the process of closure as they left the country and then re-entered the US job market. These workshops became the building blocks for her interactive presentations and career coaching.

As a talented public speaker and trainer, Melissa shares her knowledge about recruitment, retention, and career strategies with students, professionals, academics, and professionals in transition. Through the years, she has enabled countless individuals and companies to grow, prosper, and meet the constantly changing demands of an evolving economy.

Outside of her professional work, Melissa has participated on a number of non profit boards. For the past six years she has served as an officer on the board of Empowered Women International, an organization that provides entrepreneurial training to socially and economically challenged immigrant, refugee, and American-born women. In addition to networking and raising funds, she chaired the search committees for staff and EWI's15th Anniversary Celebration.

Most recently, she helped identify and work collaboratively through a merger with a larger non profit, Latino Economic Development Center, where EWI will add complimentary training services to their existing offerings. Recently, after volunteering for years with her family, Melissa and her husband became board members for Leveling the Playing Field. LPF collects gently used sports equipment and redistributes it to schools, communities, and leagues in need throughout the DMV area.

Melissa has played, refereed, and coached soccer for over 40 years, and finally hung up her cleats in 2017. In addition to her long time commitment to soccer, she has continued to practice yoga since 1997. In the past few years, Melissa has added author to her list of accomplishments, and writes both fiction and non-fiction; her blogs about career related topics can be found on LinkedIn. Melissa is a graduate of Cornell University. She lives in the DC Metro area with her husband and their blended family (five children, three cats, and two dogs). She has lived in several regions of the world, including Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Central America. Melissa is bilingual, and speaks both English and Spanish.