Meet our Executive Director
Melanie is an award-winning communications professional with over 20 years of cross-sector experience working with federal, state, and local governments, as well as nonprofits.
In her previous role, she was the Director of Public Relations for the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HMCPL) system, where she built the Library’s brand image and social media presence. She also worked on the capital campaign team that opened three new libraries in Madison County.
She is the former Director of Alabama’s oldest preservation organization - Historic Mobile Preservation, located in Mobile, Alabama. In her role, she oversaw the operations of several historic properties, a museum and an archives. She also worked on enhancing Mobile's cultural economy through their advocacy efforts in preserving its five historic districts.
Before moving to Alabama, she worked in Washington, D.C. as a public affairs officer for the Department of the Interior, and was assigned to the agency that oversees oil development for the United States. She worked directly on the Deepwater Horizon disaster response, alongside the Secretary of the Interior and the White House.
She has worked in numerous community roles, both in a professional capacity and as a volunteer. Her passion for community building can be traced back to her roots, growing up in a small town in South Louisiana. She worked directly on recovery of the region after Hurricane Katrina by acting as an ambassador of the State of Louisiana and representing the tourism industry, the region’s second-largest economic driver.
She uses her volunteer time to empower women through mentorship and education by serving on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Economic Development Council. She is an alumna of the Alabama Leadership Initiative and a former committee member of the Alabama Bicentennial.
She has a Master of Arts Degree in Public History- Historic Preservation and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. She and her husband Jeff settled in Madison in 2017 after Jeff retired from the United States Coast Guard. They have two sons, who attend Madison City Schools.