Melinda is a sales and marketing professional with a background in community and economic development. Most recently, she worked with manufacturers and tech companies to develop the Smart Manufacturing Cluster of Northeast Ohio and the Additive Manufacturing Cluster of Ohio, serving as the Membership Director since 2017. She joined GIE Media in 2020 working with the Manufacturing Media Group and then joined the Recycling Today Media Group in April 2021. Melinda has collaborated with and consulted for several organizations, including the United Way of Greater Cleveland, the Small Business Development Center, and in 2015, she was Campaign Director for the Civic Development Corporation of Ashtabula County. In this position, she managed a capital campaign raising $1.6 million to enhance the quality of life in the community.In 2018, Melinda helped bring national recognition to the City of Ashtabula after nominating the Historic Ashtabula Harbor for America’s Main Street Contest. The town won this national competition over 300 other main streets and went on to win $25K. The city is also building its first hotel in almost 100 years thanks to Melinda’s leadership, assisting with a feasibility study, and finding developers to support the project.Melinda is the President of the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club and manages a 20+ person volunteer board that plans 100+ events each year. She formerly served as a City Advocate with the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and as a member of the Engage! Cleveland Leadership Council.A little-known fact about Melinda is that she is an advocate for financial literacy and was once featured on New York Times best-selling author Dave Ramsey’s show as the “Debt-Free College Kid.”