Sample Achievements

• Facilitated planning and conducted a vendor market search leading to the development of a health and productivity management program. This national program includes traditional assessment, biometric screening and wellness programming along with the more leading-edge elements of health status-based incentives and on-site coaching.
• Revamped Fortune 500 corporate ergonomics program to improve employee safety and enhance customer service for employees participating in the program, while also reducing administrative costs.
• Reduced resources necessary for maintaining OSHA compliance by creatively using existing systems available in the company.
• Led a team that developed educational tools for state-based diabetes programs and CDC staff on how to implement a performance management system.
• Participated in developing an evaluation strategy and infrastructure for CDC’s National Diabetes Program.
• Implemented a health risk behavior survey among over 2,000 high school students in an urban county. Achieved a 67% response rate, which resulted in that county becoming the first organization in the state to secure enough data to be representative of the entire target population.

Previous Work Experience
Melissa managed health promotion programs for 28,000 employees nationwide at Progressive Corporation. Her responsibilities included management and implementation of on-site and on-line programs such as ergonomics, physical activity, nutrition, yoga, blood-borne pathogens, health risk appraisals, health screenings, vaccinations, and health communication.

Before joining Progressive, she worked in chronic disease prevention and health promotion for over five years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA. Her responsibilities included providing consultation to state health departments on the design, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs to prevent and control complications of diabetes. She also educated public officials, developed program budgets, and devised strategic plans for the expansion of chronic disease programs and the adoption of related policies. Also during her tenure at CDC, she worked on several public health programs at the DeKalb County Board of Health including a health risk survey, the tobacco program, and strategic planning.

Earlier in her career, Melissa analyzed and researched bills and other topics of interest relating to children and families, including Healthy Start, to determine possible fiscal and social impacts for the Florida House of Representatives. She also conducted research, performed data analysis, wrote and edited publications for the Florida Institute of Government.

Education and Professional Certifications
Melissa received a Master of Public Administration from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Appalachian State University.

She is the vice-chair of the Business and Managed Care Workgroup of the National Diabetes Education Program. NDEP is a partnership of the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and more than 200 public and private organizations that promotes diabetes prevention and control.

Publications Include

• Spotlight on…www.diabetesatwork.org—Taking on Diabetes in the Workplace, Wellness Management, Vol. 20, No. 4. 2005 (Author)
  
• Using the Essential Public Health Services as strategic leverage to strengthen the public health response to diabetes. Public Health Reports. May–June 2004. Volume 119. 311-321. 2003 (Co-author)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Take Charge of Your Diabetes. 3rd Edition. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2003 (Co-editor)
• Learning from listening: common concerns and perceptions about diabetes prevention among diverse American populations. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. Nov; Supplement: S56-63. 2003. (Co-author)