Melea Rose-Waters Email & Phone Number

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Adjunct professor for social welfare policy.

United States

In my role, I was responsible for leading the comprehensive planning and execution policy priorities for a national organization. This includes developing and implementing annual policy agendas at both federal and state levels. I have a strong track record of identifying and nurturing strategic alliances with national and state coalitions and advocates, and collaborating closely with key partner organizations. Furthermore, I oversaw the creation of multi-year strategic plans, monitoring trends and opportunities, especially related to legislation, in both state and federal domains. I successfully cultivated relationships with influential members of Congress and state legislators, actively engaging in state and federal lobbying efforts while supporting advocacy activities. I also played a pivotal role in updating and crafting new resources, including one-pagers, to benefit our nationwide community partners. I take pride in having built grassroots advocacy tools and models that contribute to the sustainability of local partnerships, often in close collaboration with colleagues from other departments.

North Carolina

In 2019 I was promoted to the role of Policy Director. My background in community organizing, advocacy, partnership engagement, and strategic planning brought a unique combined skillset to the position. Policy work was still relatively new to the organization and I was tasked with developing a strategic vision for the policy work, including determining policy priorities, developing messaging, writing one-pagers and briefs, and working closely with statewide partners on aligned campaigns. In two years I have led the development of a strategic vision for the policy work at PCANC, worked closely with the evaluation team to create an evaluation plan for the policy work, and our work has continued to expand and grow. We have added two Policy Associates to the team that I supervise, and I am on the Leadership Team for the organization, as well as being a part of the Equity Leadership Team.Five months into moving into this new role, the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The adjustment to 100% virtual was relatively seamless, as PCANC had been virtual way before the pandemic, but this also meant that I built the policy work virtually without the option for in-person connections. Relationships and authentic connections are foundational to advancing policy, but I believe I've been successful in growing the work during a challenging environment.

Raleigh, Nc

As the Senior Partnership Engagement Manager at PCANC, I worked with partners in Cumberland County (Fayetteville), North Carolina to create the first evidence informed framework to develop a Community Child Abuse Prevention Plan in the state. You can read more about the SOAR team here: https://ccpfc.org/partners/community-child-abuse-prevention-plan/ and here: https://www.preventchildabusenc.org/our-work/community-child-abuse-prevention-plans/cumberland-county/ . Counties across the state are motivated to take action to address ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and switch the focus onto upstream solutions. I worked with counties to provide training, consultation, strategic planning, and technical assistance during their child abuse prevention plan development. I transitioned from Partnership Engagement Manager to Senior Partnership Engagement Manager as our team expanded. I provided coaching and mentorship to two additional Partnership Engagement Managers that were brought onto the team.I am a Children's Trust Alliance national trainer of Bringing the Protective Factors to Life in Your Work, a 14-hour training on the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework. I provide training on protective factors from 1.5-hour overviews all the way to the full 14-hour training, and I also train on ACEs, toxic stress, and the power of resilience. Additionally, I am a National Trainer for our newest curriculum Connections Matter, a trauma informed, community based training developed for anyone who is interested in building stronger connections with people in their communities.In a nutshell: I'm a strategic thinker with a collaborative spirit. I enjoy connecting the dots, finding the common threads, and building authentic partnerships.

Triangle Area

I started out with NC MomsRising as an intern as part of the MSW program at UNC-CH. I created this internship when I was searching for a unique way to reach family/life balance during graduate school. After finishing my internship, I was hired on as 1 of 3 paid staff for all of NC MomsRising. We are very small, but we work from grassroots to grasstops, and our work for NC families has a broad and positive impact. We depend on a small group of dedicated volunteers to help us with our events, outreach, and meetings with elected officials. A few of the bullet points for my experience:Citizen engagement, writing/editing letters to the editor/op-eds, community outreach, event planning, meeting with lawmakers/decision makers, public speaking, coalition/partnership building, policy analysis, volunteer recruitment/supervision, and advocacy training. I continue to serve on the Steering Committee for NC MomsRising.

Chapel Hill, Nc

The first year of the MSW program I interned at UNC Family Medicine as a Care Manager for the (at the time) only social worker for the practice. Working with families and individuals who came into the practice was very rewarding. I was able to assess patients within a person-in-environment framework, not only focusing on the outward (or medical) symptoms but also working towards solutions based on where the person was on that day. I became familiar with community resources available to help give people the tools they needed to change. Bullet points:Short term assessments, short term and long term action plan development with patients, community referrals, working as part of an integrated team for best outcomes, case management, and - of course - documentation!

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

I worked for Time Together, the supervised visitation and monitored exchange program that is one of the services offered at Triangle Family Services. Many of the clients were court ordered to participate in services, where visitation with their children was monitored in house, or the exchange between parents was facilitated by trained staff. Bullet points:Supervised (and redirected actions when needed) visits between clients and children, monitored exchanges, managed high conflict situations, prepared court reports (and testified in court), and conducted client intakes. Documented everything. (I know it may seem odd to use a general statement like "everything" but really, everything was documented.)

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

I worked for Costran as a Substance Abuse Counselor, starting out as an intern (paid) as I went through the licensing process for the LCAS (which I did obtain). I led substance abuse groups, conducted assessments, and taught alcohol and drug education classes (ADETS).

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

We relocated to Raleigh from the Atlanta area for a job opportunity for my husband. I was hired temporarily to work for the City of Raleigh at the water treatment plant. They kept me way past the initial temporary period, for which I was thankful! I worked in the office doing purchase orders, answering the phone, updating databases, filing, and general office work. Great group of people and a nice way to be welcomed to Raleigh while I worked to figure out the next steps in my career.

Master Of Social Work (Msw), Community Management And Policy Practice

Activities and Societies: Ambassador to SSW - 2012-2013 Student Representative for CMPP Faculty Committee - 2011-2013 Macro Caucus

Public Leadership Certificate

In 2021 I started the Public Leadership Credential at Harvard Kennedy Business School.

Bachelor Of Science, Psychology