Favorite sports moment

June 2006 during the World Cup while working on a community project in Brazil. Seeing how sport brought people from all walks of life together as they paused their daily routines to watch the games and eat, drink, and dance together with pure joy. 

Education and professional experience

Melissa was the Senior Director of Community & Social Impact at adidas AG before leaving the company in 2024 to lead the adidas Foundation full time. She has spent her entire career focused on the non-profit sector, guiding community engagement programs across over 40 countries and fulfilling various roles related to strategic oversight, governance, operations, and organizational development. Melissa holds a Master's Degree in Animal Science with specializations in International Development and Social Science.

Personal inspiration and engagement

Witnessing people coming together, setting aside differences and personal agendas to pool their skills, resources, and ambitions for collective action and change. Melissa is proud to be able to lead an organization focused on engaging and uniting people through sport. 

Personal information

Outside of work Melissa enjoys skiing, hiking and spending time in nature with her husband and dog.