Melissa joined the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC) in August 2025 as a Senior Project Manager. She currently supports the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC/CMC) project, as well as the Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network (MODRN) project. Her work focuses on quality improvement, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and advancing health policy through applied research, practice, and evaluation. Melissa thrives on work that connects public health initiatives across disciplines, especially efforts that address the social determinants of health.
Prior to joining GRC, Melissa served as Program Manager for Celebrate Your Plate, Ohio SNAP-Ed’s statewide social marketing campaign. In this role, she led campaign development, implementation, and evaluation, directed a multi-disciplinary social marketing workgroup, and coordinated efforts with the State Nutrition Action Committee (SNAC). Her leadership emphasized partner engagement, community outreach, and alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In addition, Melissa has experience in maternal and child health as a home visitor with the Healthy Families of America program at Columbus Public Health, where she provided family-centered support and contributed to COVID-19 relief initiatives for the City of Columbus.
A very proud two-time Buckeye, Melissa earned her Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) with a concentration in Sociology (2018), and her Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Health Behavior and Health Promotion (2019) from The Ohio State University.
Outside of work, Melissa enjoys cheering on the Buckeyes, watching football, taking part in trivia nights, and diving into true crime documentaries or creative projects. She especially loves spending time with her partner Stephen and their two dogs, Nellie and Pepper—whether at the dog park, on road trips, or relaxing at home while catching up on the latest binge-worthy series.