Melissa is a well-respected nonprofit leader with a track record for building strong relationships with local and regional funders and creating strong partnerships with a wide variety of community leaders. Melissa's 30 years of experience supporting traditionally marginalized communities include her current position as the Executive Director of Rebuilding Together Peninsula which provides home repair for low income homeowners in San Mateo County and Sunnyvale. Prior to that, she served for nearly 15 years as the Executive Director of CORA, San Mateo County's only domestic violence services agency, where she oversaw the agency’s three-fold growth. In 2015, she was named Woman of the Year for the 22nd District by State Assemblyman, Kevin Mullen.
Melissa also serves on the board of Visions, Inc., a national nonprofit dedicated to eliminating all forms of interpersonal, institutional and systemic oppression. An avid outdoors person, she can be found outside whenever possible. Melissa lives in Belmont with her teen daughter, Karla, and their chickens, dogs, parakeets and turtle. She holds a B.A. from Brown University and a Masters in Business Administration from Boston University.
