Melissa (Endress) Rodriguez is an accomplished Project Manager and Senior Designer for Manal Kadry Design Collective Design and its residential and small commercial projects. Since joining the company she has developed office standards and set a higher bar for professionalism and documentation. In 1999, Melissa’s professional experience began in the industry at a residential design / build firm, while she attended the College for Creative Studies located in Detroit. After graduating with a BFA in Interior Design, Rodriguez was immediately hired as a Designer at JGA Incorporated, a retail architecture and design firm ranked among the “Top 100 Interior Design Giants in the World” by Interior Design Magazine. She was involved in a number of high profile accounts, including Saks Department Stores, Tommy Hilfiger and Yankee Candle. After an opportunity arose for Melissa to work closely with a licensed builder, she decided to become an independent designer. She was involved in every phase of the residential design / build process, continuously demonstrating her ability to set goals, complete projects on a budget and in a timely manner. Throughout those few years she gained invaluable knowledge in the field that resulted in her wanting more. With her love of travel and new-gained knowledge, Melissa set out to find a job outside of her home state of Michigan. She accepted a position at Cagley & Tanner as a Project Designer, where her project management skills were challenged in the fast paced city of Las Vegas. Her leadership, professionalism, and abilities were recognized and valued. After meeting her USAF husband and being PCS’ed to North Carolina, her design skills were utilized remotely for a multimillion dollar renovation of a casino resort located Perth, West Australia and a timeshare conversion in Los Cabos, Mexico. The dream of owning and renovating her very own home finally became a reality when she found a fixer upper near her hometown in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Alongside her father, they’re meticulously remodeling every square inch of that house. What started off as a collaboration for her longtime friend and fellow CCS grad, Melissa decided to work with Manal Kadry and the development of the Manal Kadry Design Collective. With their unique balance of creativity, collaboration, diversity, career paths, working with a diverse group of people while employing critical thinking in problem solving scenarios for their high-end residential projects.