Areas of Expertise: Strategic Leadership, Business Development, Acquisition and Integration, Fiduciary Responsibility, Quality, Operations, VOC, Managed Care Compliance, Fraud, Waste and Abuse, Corporate Governance, Marketing, and Global Healthcare Program Development.
Introduction: Melinda has over 30 years of transformational leadership experience in private, founder-led, for profit, private family-owned for profit, nonprofit, and not for profit corporations spanning the human and veterinarian healthcare sectors. She served in a variety of leadership roles including C, C-1, C-2. In these roles, she applied her entrepreneurial spirit, passion for purpose, and TQM experience to lead efforts that create substantial stakeholder value and connect business purpose with solving pain points that exist in society. Melinda has deep expertise in operational transformation and change enablement.
Executive Experience: Before her current role, Melinda held leadership positions at various prominent US academic health systems (UPMC, Emory, Vanderbilt) where she maintained full P&L responsibility and led strategy, business development, operations, quality improvement, payer relations, compensation plan redesign, workforce restructuring, joint ventures, and financial turnaround efforts for regional and international operations. In veterinary healthcare, she led seller-side due diligence for acquisition transaction teams on behalf of the Board and shareholders that resulted in the successful sale and integration of emergency and specialty care animal hospitals to a division of Mars Petcare, US, the global leader in animal health.
Board Experience: Melinda previously served as an advisory member for Atlanta, GA-based Translational Testing and Training Laboratories (renamed the Global Center for Medical Innovation), an affiliate of Georgia Tech whose mission is to help direct the development, testing, and commercialization of innovative medical products. She served as Secretary for the Crisis Center North, a multimillion-dollar nonprofit in Pittsburgh, PA where in her role as Secretary, she contributed her expertise to operational and fiscal strategy, fundraising, and advocacy, to provide direction to the President and CEO. She also has held the role of Group Chair, and other Committee positions for Advocacy, Strategic Planning, and Membership, for two national healthcare professional associations, ASCENT and SAEM, and was a Steering Committee member for a local chapter with the American Cancer Society during fundraising activities. Through her professional and volunteer involvement in these organizations, Melinda gained valuable exposure to the governance process and parliamentary procedures. She regularly presents to boards and executive committees, providing insights into operations, market developments, and organizational strategy.
Board Preferences: Melinda seeks board opportunities that align with her passion for innovation, excellence, and growth. She is particularly interested in boards of healthcare organizations, whether private, family-owned, or backed by private equity so that her skills can add value and make significant impact.
Education Information: Melinda holds a Master of Business Administration in global business studies from the University of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA while also studying family-owned business at the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel, Hessen, Germany. Academic business immersion experiences include Prague, Czech Republic and Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is a Fellow of the Woodruff Leadership Academy at Woodruff Health Sciences of Emory University, and she earned her Bachelor of Science degree, Summa Cum Laude, from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, USA. She is a lifelong learner and participated in postgraduate executive education at the Emory University Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, GA, USA, and Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Additional Information: Melinda has a unique blend of expertise with which she has demonstrated accomplishments coaching and influencing leaders to generate revenue, mitigate risk, and maximize stakeholder value. This expertise provides useful perspective for organizations undergoing large-scale transformation or navigating strategic growth amid uncertainty.

Engaging with professionals in the healthcare ecosystem, including healthcare providers, technology companies, insurance companies, regulatory agencies, investors, startups, researchers, and policymakers in work that shapes the future of healthcare to saves lives.