Melissa Fors Shackelford

Melissa Fors joined Hazelden Betty Ford in 2013 where she leads the strategic marketing functions, which includes brand strategy, digital strategy, thought leadership, marketing operations and customer relationship management. In 2019 Melissa was named Nonprofit Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association. The award, which recognizes one national nonprofit marketer annually for extraordinary leadership and achievement, is the highest honor bestowed on nonprofit marketing professionals by the AMA and its Foundation. In 2020, Melissa was the recipient of the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST Award. The TRUST Awards celebrate Minnesota women and companies that are helping the healthcare industry advance boldly into the future. Melissa works to advance nonprofit and healthcare marketing by serving on the Education and Editorial Advisory Board for the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD), speaking at industry conferences, and writing for industry publications on topics including health care branding and marketing ethics. Under her direction, Hazelden Betty Ford’s marketing team has earned numerous industry awards, most recently the Modern Healthcare Marketing Impact Gold Award for its Let’s Talk podcast series. Prior to joining Hazelden Betty Ford, Melissa was at UnitedHealth Group’s Optum in a number of marketing leadership roles for five years. Melissa has an MBA in Marketing from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and a BA from the University of Minnesota. Melissa is a board member of the American Lung Association in Minnesota and Asbury Communities based in Maryland.