Melissa is MDR Strategy Group’s Director of Public Engagement Strategy. An emerging leader in the AI space, Melissa recently published Essentials of AI for Beginners: Unlock the Power of Machine Learning, Generative AI & ChatGPT.

She has over 20 years of experience in the non-profit, private, non-governmental, and academic sectors. She is a seasoned business leader with significant experience in public engagement, operations management, management consulting, business development, and sustainability, which she has acquired in Canada, the United States, and abroad.

Her work has spanned several sectors: education, energy, government, healthcare, housing, commercial real estate, regulation, transportation, and water. Within these sectors, Melissa has worked on diverse projects, including program development and delivery, communications strategies, policy reviews, process mapping and change management initiatives, sustainability strategies, annual reports, project verification, professional training and credentialing, standards development, and more. 

Her prior leadership roles have included National Program Manager at the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada, Associate at Stantec, Managing Director at the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, Senior Business Advisor and Market Research Manager at TerraChoice Environmental Marketing (acquired by UL), and Management Consultant, Facilitation and Change Management Specialist at Clinton Group Inc.

Melissa is currently a member of the Bureau (Executive Board) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Working Party on Public-Private Partnerships. She is also Advisor, Professional Training & Capacity Building with Beyond21 Academy.

She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University, a Master in Environmental Studies degree and a Graduate Diploma in Business and Environment from York University, and a post-graduate certificate in Leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Northwestern University.