Melissa grew up in Washington State on the Olympic Peninsula, attending Eastern Oregon University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Health and Wellness and Economics. Her graduate degree in Counseling Psychology from Liberty University reinforced Melissa’s passion for helping others increase their emotional intelligence.
Melissa’s leadership journey began by working her way through college as a supervisor for Starbucks Coffee Company. Growing up in a firefighter family, Melissa loves vocations of service to her community and those in first responder and military roles. In graduate school, Melissa consulted Army Brigade and Battalion level command teams in mitigating high risk behaviors with soldiers within their units.
Melissa’s passion for service and leadership led her to becoming a founding board member for the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation, the nonprofit chosen to construct a national memorial for those that gave all in the Global War on Terror, to be constructed on the national mall in Washington DC.
Today, Melissa loves waking up each day to work as a leadership consultant and executive coach. She particularly enjoys working on the interpersonal aspects of leadership and culture, helping many teams resolve conflict, relate and communicate effectively, create healthy team dynamics and achieve their goals. Melissa has helped leaders and teams solve problems in the public and private sector, nonprofits, and faith communities. In her free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, and spending time skiing in the mountains with her husband and two daughters.