Why Me?

“Melissa added immediate impact to our organization by applying her deep expertise while taking the time to understand the unique needs of our organization. She established quick credibility amongst my colleagues and became a true extension of our team. I’d recommend Melissa to any organization as they contemplate large organizational opportunities.” - Vice-President, HR in the healthcare industry

“I engaged Melissa to run a 3 hour coaching workshop for my team. Melissa took time to understand my goals, the people involved, their roles and worked with me on developing a customized approach. She then ran an engaging session entirely online with a group of 20 that was intended to get people to openly discuss challenges, identify ways of improving collaboration, and celebrate accomplishments. While the team was initially skeptical about investing three hours of their busy day into this activity, they left the meeting energized and with a greater degree of understanding how their individual contributions enable team performance." - Senior Leader, Tech Industry

"As executive director of a small non-profit, I was seeking an experienced human resources professional to consult on our organization’s policies and procedures. What I found in meeting regularly with Melissa was so much more. Our regular conversations have helped me rethink teambuilding and staff development within our organization, and her insightful questions, resources, and coaching have strengthened my leadership skills." - Non-Profit Executive Director

Melissa was engaged to conduct a talent and culture review for a medium-sized (< 50 people) global non-profit. She worked with leadership to develop a project approach, led the review process using a number of engagement techniques including surveys, focus group discussions, and 1:1 interviews, and analyzed the findings for leadership consideration. At the end of the project, she facilitated a Board-level workshop to develop recommendations for how to evolve the NPO’s talent and culture strategy.

One of Melissa’s key strengths for this project was her ability to quickly take the pulse of the organization and adapt an approach that was appropriate to how the team had previously operated while respecting the mood of the team. In a matter of weeks, she emerged as a trusted advisor to NPO leadership on how to handle individual and group dynamics. Her insights into how to engage the Board were particularly helpful as we sought to bring the Board more directly into the conversation about how talent and culture strategy affect the future of the NPO." - Global Non-Profit Board Member

“We partnered with Melissa to create an HR Business Partner training program for our global HR team. Melissa delivered a robust, customized training program and captured all our initiatives for our growing team. Melissa incorporated best HR practices with open discussions, and the team really enjoyed the program. 

I have seen so much improvement in my team's confidence. As well, Operations management has noticed that the HR team is more engaged and presents themselves better when dealing with conflict.

We are looking forward to partnering with Melissa on additional training needs in the future!” – Annie Grillo, Vice President of Global Human Resources, Fair Trade Outsourcing

"Melissa Carson has been an invaluable resource for me and for our team. We are a small nonprofit with a tiny but dedicated staff, and the pandemic has made evident a number of challenges we face in trying to become the strongest organization we can be (and it has presented new ones as well, of course). 

Melissa has helped me think through how our team can evolve and improve, has helped me adapt our policies and practices as situations have changed, and, importantly, has helped me be a stronger leader so as to ensure that the team is functioning together. She is a strategist, a coach, and a thought partner to me as executive director, a position in which the difficulties are usually lonely ones. I am so glad to be able to work with her!"

—Carin Berkowitz, Executive Director, New Jersey Council for the Humanities