Melissa is MDR Strategy Group’s Director, Public Engagement and AI Strategy.  She is an international authority on developing complex impact-driven tools and frameworks that make innovation in communications, sustainability, equity, and technology accessible and actionable. She currently also serves on the Bureau (Executive Board) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Working Party on Public-Private Partnerships.

Melissa and is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author of Essentials of AI for Beginners and Generative AI Basics & Beyond, and recently played a key role in delivering Canada’s first AI in Regulation conference in Toronto (2025).

A sought-after trainer and speaker, having worked with hundreds of professionals and students across North America and Europe, Melissa has more than 20 years of experience across the non-profit, private, governmental, and academic sectors. She brings extensive expertise in public engagement, operations, sustainability, and business development, and her work has spanned numerous sectors such as regulation, education, energy, and healthcare, housing, and transportation in Canada and around the world.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University, a Master in Environmental Studies and a Graduate Diploma in Business and Environment from York University, and a postgraduate certificate in Leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Northwestern University. She is passionate about advancing social equity and empowering women in business and STEM through education and mentorship.