Melissa is currently the head of discovery for OptumRx. In this role, she identifies innovation portfolio growth opportunities and strategies for the organization and fuels one of her personal passions, which is to bring positive, impactful change to the healthcare space. Melissa started her career as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, worked in product and operations at Apple and co-led the formation and scale of a business and clinical analytics team at AVIA, a growth stage digital health innovation company.    

Melissa has a passion for community service and is an engaged philanthropist, with over 10 years of experience driving impact within the Chicago community. Melissa’s past service includes leadership and advisory contributions to organizations including the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, the Chicago Fire Foundation, and the Taproot Foundation. She currently gives of her time and talents as a board director and treasurer for MAPSCorps. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to public service. 

Melissa holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree of accountancy from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she was a George C. Brooks Scholar, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Melissa is a licensed certified public accountant in Illinois and Missouri.