Melissa holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from the American Society of Association Executives (representing over 46,000 members). CAE, the only professional designation for the association management profession, has been achieved by over 4,300 association industry leaders worldwide. Melissa is a Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) through the Society for Human Resource Management, the world’s largest HR professional society, representing over 300,000 members as the leading provider of resources serving the needs of HR professionals and advancing the practice of Human Resource Management. There are over 63,000 SHRM-CP certified professionals worldwide.
Melissa provides Human Resources management to AMS clients going through growth and transition, by providing HR resources and support during these transformational periods. Melissa was the AMS lead on the Association of Home Office Underwriters (AHOU) Educational Task Force’s feasibility study. From that study, the AHOU Education Task Force launched Advance360, a learning management platform that now offers members on-demand podcasts and webinar case studies.
During her career, Melissa has worked closely with over 15 Boards of Directors and countless committees and workgroups. She has a particular knack for dealing with the varying personalities and needs associated with volunteer leaders and works with these individuals to advance the mission of their organization.
Melissa has worked her entire nonprofit career at either an association management company or a stand-alone association. She’s been intimately involved in both organization and client growth, including challenges with finances, structure, staffing, and facilities and worked closely with management and elected leadership to successfully survive those growth periods.
She has served as a mentor to over 25 young professionals during her career. Many of those were new to the association/non-profit world trying to find their niche and/or specialty within the organization or client. She maintains close relationships with many of these individuals as they have been promoted or moved along to other opportunities.
Army Brat who never lived anywhere longer than three years (until getting married and making Washington, DC home). Lives with four DC area sports fanatics. Often seen taking photos on the sidelines (with an actual camera, not a Smartphone) of her sports fanatics.
