Melissa Penney

Melissa Penney has a diverse work experience in various organizations and roles. Melissa started their career as a Staff Assistant at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2003, where they worked until 2006. Melissa then interned at the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston and the Metrowest Health Foundation in 2006 and 2007.

In 2008, they joined the Massachusetts Service Alliance and worked as a Program Officer before being promoted to Program Team Leader in 2011. Their responsibilities included managing budgets, coordinating grant processes, and providing training and support to grantee organizations.

From 2012 to 2014, Melissa worked at the Boston Plan for Excellence as a Grants Manager. During this time, they managed fiscal compliance, implemented business protocols, and administered Salesforce CRM for fundraising management.

In 2014, they joined Teach For America as the Director of AmeriCorps Partnerships. In this role, they oversaw program operations and compliance for federal and state AmeriCorps grants. Melissa developed tools to improve program efficiencies, trained regional staff, and mitigated risks through assessments and site visits.

Most recently, Melissa worked at Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc. from 2016. Melissa initially served as an Operations Manager and was later promoted to Director of Operations. Their responsibilities included overseeing business operations strategy, HR management, IT and systems development, and policies and compliance. Melissa also created new processes and tools for project delivery and internal communications.

Melissa Penney completed their Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Bates College between 1999 and 2003. Melissa then pursued further education and obtained a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree with a concentration in Macro social work from Boston University, completing their studies from 2006 to 2008.