Passionate about education and diversity, Melissa has more than 15 years of experience in communications, marketing and public relations. Since 2011 Melissa has worked in education communications serving as a lead communicator for the largest educational service district in Washington state advocating for student success, equitable access to high-quality instruction and amplifying teacher voice at Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD).
Able to provide strategic communication, marketing and engagement strategies and services for private corporations, non-profits and school districts Melissa is currently the Interim Director of Communications and Public Relations at PSESD. Melissa has a wide variety of experience, including excellent writing, editing, strategic planning, multimedia and interpersonal skills, budget management, planning and grant writing and extensive experience in web design/management, social media, graphic design, blogging and content marketing.
Two of Melissa’s main projects at PSESD have included serving as the lead Communications Director for CORElaborateWA and for Educare Seattle. Using her passion for and expertise in social media to amplify teacher voice in Washington through CORElaborateWA.org and to amplify parent and community voice through the EducareSeattle.org website.
Melissa is a trained Action Collab facilitator, trained by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education in San Francsico. ISKME’s Action Collabs™ are dynamic workshops that use the design-thinking framework to innovate new ideas with actionable next steps. Collaboration and ideation happen in four steps: Identify Opportunity, Design, Prototype, and Scale and Spread. And throughout the experience, participants engage in improvisational exercises specifically designed to encourage expansive thought and accelerate meaningful collaboration. Melissa co-facilitated several Action Collab workshops at Big Ideas Fest in San Jose, California in 2015.
Melissa also serves on the Board of Washington School Public Relations Association (WSPRA), as the 2016-17 Vice President of Electronic Communications. Melissa holds a B.A. in Applied Sociology/Social work from Seattle University and a M.A. in Communication and Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.
